Multiple killer seeks pardon with ‘fresh evidence’

The lawyer for a man convicted of the triple murder of his ex-girlfriend Neelma Singh and two of her siblings in Brisbane is petitioning to have his client pardoned, claiming fresh evidence points to the man’s innocence.

QUEENSLAND Governor Paul de Jersey has been petitioned to pardon killer Massimo Sica, convicted in 2012 of the triple murder of his ex-girlfriend Neelma Singh and two of her siblings.

The move is being pursued by lawyer Jeff Johnson, who says there is fresh evidence pointing to Sica’s innocence.

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The battered bodies of Neelma, 24, and her siblings, Kunal, 18, and Sidhi, 12, were found in a spa bath in a home the victims shared with their parents in Brisbane’s northern suburbs in April 2003.

Massimo Sica was found guilty of the murders in July 2012 after the longest trial in Queensland Supreme Court history. He was sentenced to 35 years in jail.

Sica was found guilty of the murders in July 2012 after the longest trial in Queensland Supreme Court history, and was sentenced to 35 years behind bars.

The petition to the Governor cites evidence by forensic pathologist Johan Duflou which was based on a study of freshwater deaths by drowning recorded in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine in 2017.

Using that study, Dr Duflou places the time of death of the trio at between 9pm on Monday April 21, 2003 and 9am on April 22, 2003.

That would be 14 to 26 hours later than the time the crown alleged the deaths occurred.

Professor Duflou said the overall appearance of the bodies upon removal from the spa and at autopsy the following day supported that time frame.

Neelma Singh with siblings Kunal and Sidhi. Their bodies were discovered submerged in the family's spa bath in 2003 at Bridgeman Downs.

The plea for a pardon follows on from the case of a man (who cannot be named for legal reasons) at the centre of a gangland murder case who was freed from custody last month after the man’s family used a historic law which allows kings and queens to offer mercy to prisoners. In that matter, Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath advised the Governor to reduce both the man’s sentence and non-parole period by 12 months, making the prisoner immediately eligible for parole.

Successful prerogative of mercy cases are rare, with 257 applications lodged since 1992, while there have been eight examples of the governor exercising the authority in some way since 2000.

Originally published as Multiple killer seeks pardon with ‘fresh evidence’