Human remains found at Hamilton landfill during search for Shalini Singh, police say
Shalini Singh's dad says police told the family 'the worst possible' news last week
Partial human remains have been found at a Hamilton landfill and police suspect they belong to missing Hamilton woman Shalini Singh.
Police are awaiting DNA confirmation, which can take weeks, they said Thursday morning at a news conference.
"The remains we have located are within the target zone for this investigation. So I am hopeful and optimistic that we will receive the DNA results that we are looking for," said Det.-Sgt. Daryl Reid.
The 40-year-old was last heard from on Dec. 4. The homicide unit took over the investigation early on and police began searching the landfill in February.
Singh's parents Anita and Dalip Singh told CBC Hamilton police knocked on the door of their Burlington, Ont., home on May 21 to deliver the news they'd likely found some of her remains.
"We wanted to hear that she's safe and she's going to be back home," Dalip said. "But we got the worst news we could've had."
"They didn't tell us exactly what they found," Anita said. "They said it's better if we don't know."
A landfill search of this scale has been a first for Hamilton police. Now in its fifteenth week, the search will continue as they look for more remains and evidence, police said.
Along with DNA testing, the remains are also being examined by the Office of the Coroner and forensic experts, said Reid.
"I'm so afraid to find out what happened to her," said Anita, through tears.
"But we have to know what happened to her. And I hope she didn't suffer too much. She didn't deserve this. She deserved the best of everything. Not this."
Reported missing in December
One of the last times anyone heard from Singh was when she called Anita on Dec. 4.
"She just kept saying, 'I love you, mom, I love you mom, I love you, mom.' And I said, 'What's the matter with you, Shalini? Are you all right?'" Anita told CBC Hamilton in February. "And she hung up all of a sudden."
In the days following, Anita and Dalip said they frantically tried to get in touch with her — calling her and her boyfriend's phones and going to their apartment in downtown Hamilton.
On Dec. 10, they went to the police station and reported her and her boyfriend missing.
Hamilton police tracked Singh's boyfriend down shortly after — at a family member's home in the Halton region.
Police said early on that he wasn't co-operating.
On Thursday, Reid said the boyfriend continues to not be co-operative, but wouldn't say if he was a suspect.
No charges or suspects were announced at the news conference.
Reid said there's no information to suggest multiple people were involved or that Singh was worried about her safety leading up to her disappearance.
Search extended
Police have reviewed hundreds of hours of video footage from Singh's downtown apartment building and never saw her leave after Dec. 4. They seized "several items" believed to be relevant to the investigation from both Singh and her boyfriend's vehicles and the apartment.
Anita and Dalip said they were informed by police Singh's blood was found on the walls of the apartment.
Police have been investigating the possibility she was killed there, her body disposed of through the building's garbage system.
Reid said Thursday investigators continue to believe that is what happened to her.
They traced the building's garbage to Hamilton's Kenora Waste Transfer Station, which police searched on Dec. 15. Nothing was located there, as the garbage from the apartment building had already been moved to the Glanbrook landfill.
Police began searching the landfill in February, an operation that was expected to last until mid-April but that was extended into May and will continue.
Their target zone within the search has involved sifting through approximately 5,000 cubic metres of waste in snow and rain, said Reid.
"This has been a complex, resource-intensive investigation and has demanded extraordinary co-ordination, planning, and effort across multiple teams and community partners," Supt. Marty Schulenberg told reporters Thursday.
Singh was 'so loving'
Singh is described by family and friends as intelligent, cheerful and kind — the type of person who was eager to help anyone in need.
She was working as a mental health crisis worker in the Halton region for the Canadian Mental Health Association and dreamed of opening her own crisis centre one day, said Anita.
Singh was also a board director of Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton, a non-profit advocacy group, volunteered in the community and did standup comedy.
"She never stopped smiling," Anita said. "She was so happy and she was so loving."
They are waiting for her remains to give her a proper funeral, she said. And for answers about what happened to their daughter, said Dalip.
"I hope the pain will subside," he said. "I cannot say when and by how much, but it looks like we are both condemned for the rest of our lives to live with just our memories. What did we do to deserve it?"
If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you're affected by family or intimate partner violence, you can look for help through crisis lines and local support services.
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