(Edmonton Journal) – Autopsy results confirm that the wife of an Edmonton-based RCMP officer died from multiple gunshot wounds, officials said Tuesday.
Rajpinder Sehmbi, 29, was found dead in her home early Saturday.
Her husband, RCMP Const. Tirth Sehmbi, has been charged with her murder and made his first court appearance on Monday.
Family members said the couple were in a nine-year arrange marriage that was shaky from the start.
At one point the couple separated for a year, then got back together, then moved out of his parents’ house to see if that would help. But all that move did was isolate them more, said a close relative. After they moved, there was no one to stop them from arguing.
“Even his job didn’t help him,” she said. “We are all in shock. They both needed counselling. The frustration for so long kept building.
“I wish I could do something, but it’s too late now.”
All of Rajpinder’s family lives in New Delhi and England. The Sikh community in Edmonton is waiting for her parents to arrive before making funeral arrangements.
The couple’s two school-aged boys are living with Tirth’s parents in the home where they grew up.
The seven-year veteran officer was stationed with the RCMP in the Alberta communities of Grande Prairie and Evansburg before transferring to the traffic section of the RCMP Stony Plain detachment, about 40 kilometres west of Edmonton. He was also a dog handler.
Tirth had his RCMP-issued gun at home in accordance with RCMP policy because he was often on call.
Rajpinder held several jobs in Canada, working at several Starbucks and Sobeys locations. She also helped out in kindergarten classes several years ago at a private Sikh elementary and junior high.
When the couple separated in 2004, Rajpinder went back to India for a year but her parents encouraged her to come back and try again, said the family member. But the couple argued constantly. The decision to move out was partly to give his parents peace, she said, and to see if they could better work out their problems on their own.
Tirth has been suspended with pay, but the professional standards division will decide whether further action, such as suspending his pay, will be taken, said Sgt. Tim Taniguchi, RCMP spokesman.
Tirth is expected back in court on Aug. 12.
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