Police in Canada have charged a 22-year-old Indian man with second-degree murder in the death of his partner, 23-year-old Damanpreet Kaur, a native of Samaralia in Punjab’s Ludhiana district, who succumbed to her injuries days after she was found unresponsive at a home in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta province.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said officers responded to a call around 6:44 p.m. on July 9 about an “unresponsive female with suspicious injuries” at a home in the Silverbury neighbourhood, in southeast Edmonton. “An adult male was taken into custody a short time later,” police said.
He was arrested days after the killing
Damanpreet Kaur was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she died on July 12, police said. The Edmonton Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on July 14 and determined the manner of death to be homicide, according to police. On July 23, investigators revealed the cause of death was strangulation, saying information had previously been withheld for investigative reasons.
“Ritesh Kumar was arrested on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 and charged with second-degree murder,” EPS said in its statement.
The ministry added, “This death is considered a homicide of an intimate partner. Police are not looking for any additional suspects at this time.” The term “intimate partner homicide” is used in Canada to refer to a homicide involving a current or former romantic partner, regardless of marital status.
Which led to the murder
Police have not revealed the circumstances that led to Kaur’s death or any possible motive. They also did not say whether the man initially detained on July 9 was Kumar, who was formally arrested about two weeks later. No further details about Kumar were shared.
Local station CityNews reported that neighbors said Kaur and Kumar were living together in a basement suite on Silverbury Road. Members of Edmonton’s Punjabi community described Kaur as friendly and said her death shocked the local community. Community member Gulzar Singh Nirman told CityNews that he spoke to Kaur’s father in India, who was devastated by the loss.
Separately, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help return Kaur’s body to India and cover funeral-related expenses. “The costs of international transportation, documentation and funeral arrangements are prohibitive for the family during this heartbreaking time,” the fundraiser says.
The campaign says the money will be used to transport Kaur’s body to India so her family can perform her last rites. By Saturday, she had almost raised her full goal of $20,000.
