Shocked husband flies home to identify slain wife, daughter

Ravneet and Dev Sangha in a family picture taken when their daughter Anna was born. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A distraught Bay of Plenty man was last night flying home to New Zealand to identify the bodies of his slain wife and 2-year-old daughter.

The bodies of Ravneet Sangha and her daughter, Anna - who was not found for almost 20 hours - were removed last night from the family home in the Tauranga suburb of Otumoetai. They will undergo post-mortem examinations today.

A 23-year-old man, who police last night said was known to the couple and had been "associated with the address", appeared in court yesterday, charged with Mrs Sangha's murder. He is expected to face more charges this week.

Mrs Sangha's husband, Dev, was holidaying in India when he was told of his wife's death and, initially, the disappearance of his daughter.

Counties Manukau police were the first to be alerted to the tragedy when they were contacted late on Sunday afternoon by a member of the public who wanted "to do the right thing".

Officers discovered Mrs Sangha's body at the house, sparking an overnight search for Anna in surrounding parks and schools.

Western Bay of Plenty police area commander Inspector Mike Clement said the toddler's body was not found until midday yesterday - almost 20 hours later - because it had been concealed in the house.

"This is a tragic outcome and one we were all hoping might turn out differently."

Mr Clement would not say how the mother and daughter died, where the bodies were found in the house or how Anna's body was hidden. He also would not say if there were signs of a struggle, or a possible motive.

But he confirmed the accused killer was known to the couple.

Asked whether the man lived at the home, Mr Clement said he was "associated with the address".

Neighbours and friends yesterday described Dev and Ravneet Sangha as a quiet couple and so hard working that they were rarely seen.

They were working to save money so they could fulfil their dream of opening a cricket academy.

Taxi drivers from Tauranga Mount Taxis, the company for which Mr Sangha works, gathered outside the couple's two-bedroom home yesterday.

They said Mr Sangha worked long shifts as a taxi driver and his wife - whom they described as honest and lovely - worked in a kiwifruit packhouse in Katikati.

"These people were just very nice people," said one driver. "They were just doing what they had to do to live a normal life here. It is a horrible thing."

Mr Sangha was captain of a social cricket team.

Mr Sangha is well known in Indian cricket circles and is a friend of former Indian test cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Sidhu.

Tauranga Mount Taxis chairman Sukhwinder Singh said devastated staff had taken time off work to wait at the Sangha house for updates yesterday.

"We are very frustrated and angry about this but we know what is going to happen - we think he [the accused, if convicted] should go to prison for a long time."

Mr Singh said Mrs Sangha had occasionally worked for the company as a driver.

When she wasn't picking kiwifruit, Mrs Sangha, like her husband, would work 12-hour shifts, six days a week.

"She was a very, very hard worker. She would work during the day and her husband at night ... They were trying hard to save money."

Mr Sangha, 37, was robbed at work in March. He gave the robber money and escaped the situation after pushing his taxi's emergency button, which alerted dispatchers and then police.

Ngatai Rd resident Graeme Allen, who lives at the property closest to the couple, was one of the last people to see the mother and daughter alive.

"I saw the little girl running around the back lawn at lunchtime on Saturday. She was outside with her mum while she was hanging clothes on the line."

Mr Allen said he spoke to the couple "over the fence now and again but certainly not very often because they were workaholics".

The accused killer was granted name suppression when he appeared in the Manukau District Court yesterday. He will appear in the Tauranga District Court on Thursday.

CHILD'S BODY MISSED FOR 20 HOURS

As dozens of police searched schools and a nearby estuary looking for Anna Sangha, the 2-year-old's body lay inside the home other officers had been at for nearly 20 hours.

Police would not say yesterday why it took them so long to find her.

Area commander Inspector Mike Clement would say only that her body had been concealed.

Earlier, in an appeal to the public to help them find Anna, police had said they could not rule out that she could be with family or friends.

Yesterday, Mr Clement defended the search methods. "Since discovering the woman's body ... the house has been treated as a crime scene. The house was initially searched, mindful of preserving the integrity of the evidence in the crime scene."

He defended the extensive ground search and the time it took to find Anna.

"From the outset, we were aware that there was a young girl missing ... and it was absolutely vital that we explored all potential possibilities until circumstances determined otherwise.

"The house is surrounded by extensive reserves, two schools and a number of houses so it was important that this area was taken into the equation. Until circumstances determined otherwise, it was appropriate that a wider search was undertaken."