Krishna Chopra death: Man charged with murder of Crows Nest woman

Police have confirmed the son-in-law of Crows Nest woman Krishna Chopra has been charged with her alleged murder, with investigations continuing to identify if anyone else was involved.

Close to two months after the body of Krishna Chopra was discovered in her Crows Nest home, the woman’s son-in-law has been charged with her alleged murder.

On Thursday detectives from Toowoomba CIB and the Homicide Investigation Group located and arrested 33-year-old Pratten man Simon Jones after he handed himself in to police at Warwick Police Station.

During a brief mention of the matter in Toowoomba Magistrates Court, duty lawyer Matt Gemmell made no application for bail, with Mr Jones not appearing on the video link for the mention.

The charge follow a police investigation that began in January after a friend discovered the body of Ms Chopra, 61, in her Park Road home.

Adjourning the matter for a committal mention, police prosecutor Bettina Trenear indicated a partial brief of evidence would be made available for the next court mention, given the serious nature of the charge.

Magistrate Howard Osborne adjourned the matter to May 20.

A QPS forensic team search a property in Pratten in connection to the murder of Krishna Chopra in Crows Nest. Saturday, March 12, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Speaking at a press conference following the arrest, Detective Senior Sergeant Paul McCusker confirmed Mr Jones was Ms Chopra’s son-in-law, and that investigations were continuing into the matter to identify if anyone else was involved in the alleged murder.

Senior Sergeant McCusker said police allege Ms Chopra died as a result of blunt force trauma sometime between the evening of January 20 or the early hours of January 21, and that police believe it had been planned.

“When we start these types of jobs it’s an open field as to who may or may not be involved, there’s no-one excluded,” he said.

“Every case of this nature is hard on police and also members of the community.

“Crows Nest is a great community with great community spirit so to have an (alleged) murder in their community creates a lot of angst and concern.

“Investigations are ongoing and we haven’t excluded the possibility that there are other persons or person involved in this.”

Krishna Chopra, who was alleged murdered in Crows Nest in January 2022.

In early February, officers established a community outreach hub in the small Toowoomba region town, in an effort to gather more information about the alleged homicide.

Police also released multiple photos of the vehicles Ms Chopra drove and CCTV footage of her last known movements prior to her death.

Detectives continue to appeal to anyone who has not already come forward, who may have had an association with Ms Chopra or visited her house at 5 Park Road, Crows Nest, to come forward and share what they know with police.

Additionally, anyone who was in the Park Road area of Crows Nest on January 20, 21 and 22 is asked to contact police to discuss their observations and movements.

If you have any information for police regarding this matter call 1800 333 000 .and quote QP2200172754.