Taxi driver accused of m*rd*ring new mum faces court after his ex-partner’s body was found – as her sister makes a heartbreaking vow
A taxi driver accused of killing his former partner just four months after the birth of their child will remain bars.
Jana Armstrong, 30, was last seen at a unit on Gordon Avenue in the Toowoomba suburb of Newtown, south-east Queensland, on Tuesday.
Her white Hyundai Kona was found in the middle of the road on the corner of Jellicoe Street and Gordon Avenue at about 6am on Wednesday, sparking a search that came to an end on Saturday night when her body was found by pig hunters in steep bushland an hour north of Toowoomba
Indian-born taxi driver Dharminder Singh, 48, the former partner of Ms Armstrong, was arrested early on Sunday morning and charged with one count of murder (domestic violence offence) and fronted Toowoomba Magistrates Court via videolink on Monday.
The court heard that Singh has also been charged with arson and breach of bail.
Singh is accused of ‘wilfully and unlawfully’ setting fire to a car at Toowoomba on July 8, according to court documents, the ABC reported.
He is also accused of breaching one of his bail conditions, which allegedly occurred between June 27 and July 9.
Singh was refused bail to reappear in court in October.
Ms Armstrong (left) and her sister Faith Isaacs (right) were looking forward to raising their babies togetherMs Armstrong’s family and friends packed the public gallery for the court hearing, including her sister Faith Isaacs, who held her four-month nephew Deshal in her arms.
Singh’s lawyer Ramli Salehkon told reporters outside court that it was distressing time for everyone.
‘My client has co-operated with police investigation … (he) asserts his innocence, this matter will be defended,’ Mr Salehkon said.
‘My client has rights, I ask that people respect my client’s family and his loved ones in this difficult time.’
It comes after police confirmed that Singh had been caring for their newborn son Deshal since Ms Armstrong’s disappearance, including when he was arrested early Sunday.
‘He was with a four-month old,’ Detective Acting Superintendent Michael Manago told the Today show.
Ms Isaacs is now taking care of her nephew, after suffering another devastating blow just months earlier.
Ms Issacs’ three-week-old daughter, Lehara, died in May after complications during birth.
‘She’s taking care of my daughter and I’m now taking care of her son and I’ll raise him just the way she would have wanted me to,’ she told Seven News.
Dharminder Singh faces court charged with m*rd*r of Toowoomba mum Jana Armstrong
‘I knew within four hours of her going missing that she was no longer with us.’
Ms Isaacs fought back tears as she paid tribute to her sister.
‘I love her and I’m going to miss her so much,’ she said.
‘We can now take her to a resting spot next to mum and dad.
‘She was so caring and loved her son so much, more than anything. She put everyone before herself.
‘She was just the best sister and an even better mum.
‘It’s cruel, so cruel, and now he has no mum.’
Ms Issacs was one of the last people to see her sister alive when the pair caught up for brunch at a cafe on Tuesday, hours before Ms Armstrong went missing.
She had always suspected that her sister had not wandered off on her own and was relieved to learn of Singh’s arrest.
Volunteers were preparing to resume the search on Sunday morning before police informed Ms Armstrong’s family that their worst fears had been realised.
Cousins Lara and Hannah Sweedman visited the scene on Sunday where Ms Armstrong’s body was found.
‘We knew deep down she was never coming home to us,’ Lara said.
‘We are shattered, we are heartbroken, but we are really grateful we get to bring our beautiful cousin Jana home so we can lay her to rest in the way she deserves.
‘It’s not the breakthrough we wanted at all.’
Hannah added: ‘The support from Toowoomba and the whole of the community, the whole of Australia, has been phenomenal.
‘Now we just have to hope that the justice system takes its course.’
A post-mortem will be conducted to determine how Ms Armstrong died.
Police allege that Ms Armstrong was killed between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
Singh is accused of using her Hyundai Kona to transport and dump her body.
Investigators are calling for dashcam or CCTV vision between Toowoomba and Esk, along Esk Hampton Rd and the New England Highway, between 10.30pm on July 7 and 1.30am on July 8.
Police revealed on Sunday that there were no previous domestic violence orders in place prior to Ms Armstrong’s death.
‘I don’t think there’s anything police could have done to prevent this at all,’ Darling Downs Acting Detective Inspector Brian Collins told reporters.
‘People in the community would be horrified that a young lady, a 30-year-old with a four-month-old child, has had her life (allegedly) taken – and rightfully so.’
Detective Inspector Collins said Singh had initially been questioned by police while search teams looked for Ms Armstrong, and that he had been released without charge.
‘He provided a statement as a witness,’ he said.