Woman fatally stabbed in Brampton had agreed to meet estranged husband in park, brother says

A woman fatally stabbed in a Brampton park on Friday had agreed to meet her estranged husband there, her brother has told CBC News.

DavinderKaur, 43, had been contemplating divorce from her husband, Nav Nishan Singh, 44, according toher brother Lakhwinder Singh, who lives in the United States. Her husband left six months ago, he added.

The two met inSparrow Park,located near Cherrytree Drive and Sparrow Court, on Friday evening and Kaur was stabbed. She died at the scene. Singh has been charged with first-degree murder. He appeared in a Brampton courtroom on Saturday.

Her brother said the two had been married for more than 20 years and had four children together. Three live in Brampton, one lives in India.

Singh said what happened in the park was undescribable. He said he was told by Kaur that her husbandwanted to meet her to talk about living together again. The news of her death was devastating, he said.

"Iwas shocked. I stopped my car.I was crying.I tried to call everyone.I did try to call the Canadian police, everybody, but this is too late for us," he said.

According to Peel Regional Police, officers received a 911 call for medical assistance in the park at about 6 p.m.

Emergency crews found Kaur with "obvious signs of trauma."She died at the scene despite the attempts of Peel paramedics to save her life. Police located her husband about two kilometres away.

Singh said Kaur, his eldest sister, was a "great person"and dedicated to her family.

"She was raising kids, working hard.She was a really nice person," he said. "I don't know how come he can do that...It's a bad loss for us. She was like my mom. She raised me too."

Kaur's brother said the family is worried about her children.

"The kids are alone there.We don't really have anybody there. The kids are alone by themselves.They are in a bad situation too but we have to accept that now she is no more."

Her brother said he is hoping to get a visa in time for the funeral.

Members of the family from India are also trying to get to Canada to honour someone whom they say was always supportive of everyone.

Singh added: "If people has any issue with their family or anybody, just sort it out, don't kill anybody. This is not the right way. We lost our sister."

Advocacy group 'outraged' at the killing

In a statement, the Peel Committee Against Women Abuse (PCAWA) said it is "outraged and deeply saddened" at the news that Kaur was allegedly murdered by her male partner.

The committee said femicide is not an "isolated incident" and that a woman or girl is killed by an act of violence in Canada every 48 hours.

"Femicides are a systemic issue that reflect the systemic inequities and patriarchal systems that condone, normalize and encourage acts of gender-based violence," Maria Zigouris, PCAWA co-chair, said in the statement.

The committee plans to ask Peel Region at an upcoming regional council meeting to declare intimate-partner violence and gender-based violence to be an epidemic.