WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
Hamilton police have charged the live-in partner of Shalini Singh with second-degree murder after her partial remains were found in a landfill last month.
Jeffery Smith, 42, was arrested in a Burlington, Ont., parking lot on Friday near his family’s home, Det. Sgt. Daryl Reid told reporters Monday. He was also charged with indignity to human remains, related to her body being disposed of through an apartment building garbage system, Reid said.
His arrest came soon after Singh’s remains were positively identified through DNA testing on Friday.
Police believe Singh was killed on Dec. 4 — after she spoke to her mother, Anita Singh, on the phone around 7 p.m. ET — or in the early-morning hours of Dec. 5 in the apartment where she lived with Smith.
Investigators theorized early on, after reviewing hundreds of hours of surveillance footage, that Singh never left the building alive after Dec. 4 and could’ve been killed soon after. They traced the building’s garbage from that time period to the Glanbrook landfill.
After months of combing through garbage, police officers found human remains on May 21.
Singh’s family has struggled waiting for answers.
Her father, Dalip Singh, called it “sheer torture” when interviewed by CBC Hamilton in February. On Monday, police said Singh’s family has requested privacy to process her death.
“Even though they’ve waited this long and the moment has built up to this, it’s still a shock to them to get the confirmation,” said Reid.
Smith has a history of assault, as outlined in a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling in a separate case. That case involved St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton opposing the Ontario Review Board’s decision to release Smith into the community without supervision. The board reviews cases of people found not criminally responsible.
In 2012, Smith was charged in the attack of his mother and the assault of a neighbour, and was later found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, according to the Court of Appeal.
He was held at two mental health in-patient centres, including St. Joseph’s, until 2017, when he was allowed to live in the community, said the court. He was briefly readmitted for a time in 2018 after testing positive for cocaine.
In 2022, the Ontario Review Board considered granting him absolute discharge, meaning his mental health care wouldn’t be overseen by St. Joseph’s Forensic Outpatient Program, the Court of Appeal’s decision said.
The hospital, Smith’s treating psychiatrist and the Crown were all opposed, agreeing that “Smith posed a significant threat to the safety of the public and should therefore remain under the board’s supervision,” said the Court of Appeal, which summarized the proceedings.
Another doctor who assessed Smith determined the “most likely risk scenario” would involve Smith not taking his medications, withdrawing from his parents and abusing substances, leading to a return of his “psychosis.”
“In [the doctor’s] opinion, these risk factors would likely cause Mr. Smith to act out violently … with his likely victims being those closest to him,” noted the Court of Appeal.
The board heard from one person who advocated for Smith’s release, his then-close friend and roommate, Singh.
She testified to her experience working in the mental health field and knowledge of Smith’s medications, said the Court of Appeal.
Singh’s parents previously told CBC Hamilton they weren’t aware of any issues in her relationship with Smith.
The board’s five-person panel was divided, but the majority, comprised of two legal representatives and a member of the public, found he didn’t pose a “significant” threat and granted the absolute discharge.
They noted he had a strong work ethic and has done “extremely well” with no violent incidents in a decade, and could receive support at the Schizophrenia Outpatient Clinic. And they determined Singh would be a suitable person to monitor him and ensure he was taking his medication.
The board’s two members, who were doctors, didn’t agree, stating he was continuing to “meet the threshold for significant threat to public safety.”
St. Joseph’s appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, arguing Smith should be more closely monitored and noting his treatment team hadn’t had the opportunity to meet with Singh to “independently assess her ability” to manage Smith.
“In our view, it does not much matter,” said the Court of Appeal.
It ultimately ruled there was no basis to interfere, dismissing the hospital’s appeal and upholding the absolute discharge.
When asked Monday if mental health was a factor in the killing of Singh, Reid, with Hamilton police, declined to comment, saying that would be up to the courts to decide.
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.
