Three Year Old Killed in Lalor

A three year old boy died in the back of a car boot.

Crime:  Manslaughter
Occurred:  4 March 2010
Sentenced:  2 February 2011
Where: Lalor area
Convicted:  Gursewak Dhillon
Victim:  Gurshan Singh

What happened?
Gursewak and his family lived with another family at 28 David Street in Lalor.  At around 11.30am on a Thursday morning, he opened a door without realising that Gurshan Singh, a three year old son of the other family, was on the other side.  The door struck the boy in the head and knocked him unconscious.  Gursewak, who had outstanding immigration violations, was scared that he would get in serious trouble from migration authorities if the police or ambulance attended the house.  He put the boy in the boot of his car and drove around the area for two hours, in which time the Gurshan either suffered from fatal heatstroke (the boot would have reached temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius) or asphyxiated.  At one stage Gursewak drove past the Northern Hospital but did not stop in.  He eventually ran out of petrol and flagged down a lift to the petrol station from a motorist while the boy remained in the boot. At this stage he checked the boot to see that Gurshan was no longer alive.  He dumped the corpse in long grass at Oaklands Junction, near Melbourne Airport.  A truck driver discovered the body at 6:20 that same evening.  Meanwhile, Gursewak returned to David Street where he denied any knowledge of the boy's whereabouts until three days later.

Gurshan and his mother

Victim's background
When Gurshan was discovered missing, a statewide campaign was launched to look for the three year old child.  When he was struck by Gursewak his mother was in the shower and his father was at the local library.  Since arriving in Australia two months beforehand, Gurshan was at times sick from the Melbourne heat.  On the day of his death he had not eaten anything.  His parents expressed their devastation through a victim impact statement which was considered in the judge's sentence.  They have returned home to India.


Convicted's background
Gursewak was 24 years old when he killed Gurshan.  He grew up in India and came to Australia on a student visa in 2006.  Gursewak did not complete his studies (which may have led to his immigration problems) and found work as a courier and taxi driver instead.  His wife and daughter lived with him in Melbourne for a time but are now in India.  

28 David Street Lalor where the initial incident occurred

Outcome of trial: Gursewark pleaded guilty before his committal hearing so a trial was not necessary.  He did not apply for bail while awaiting sentencing.




Sentence:   Three years before eligible for parole (five years max).  He has already served nearly one year of his sentence in remand.  Upon being freed he will be deported back to India.

You can read the judgement here.  Media coverage is available here and here.

Where the body was found