An Edmonton-area Mountie made his first court appearance Monday after being charged with the second-degree murder of his wife.
Tirth Sehmbi, 36, was charged over the weekend in connection to his wife's death. Sehmbi's wife, Rajpinder Sehmbi, was found inside their Jackson Heights home on Saturday. Sehmbi was arrested a few hours later at a different location.
"It is with regret that RCMP can now confirm that Const. Tirth Sehmbi has been officially charged with second-degree murder of his wife," said Sgt. Tim Taniguchi with the RCMP.
There is now suspicion surfacing about what Sehmbi may have been planning in the days leading up to the murder. A neighbour tells CTV News that Sehmbi approached him on Thursday and asked to use his holiday trailer for the weekend so that he could keep an eye on his own home.
Cara Levesque worked with Rajpinder at Starbucks for close to two years. Rajpinder's immediate family lived in India and her friends say they never knew of any problem in her marriage.
"I couldn't believe something like that would happen to someone as fantastic as what Raj was," said Levesque.
The eight-year member of the RCMP has now been suspended with pay. Police say Sehmbi served as a canine handler and traffic services constable out of Stony Plain.
CTV News has uncovered exclusive footage of Sehmbi along with fellow members of the Edmonton Police Service being introduced to the Alberta Legislature earlier this year. They were being honoured in celebration of a Sikh religious holiday.
Sehmbi used to volunteer for Radio Punjab, a radio station which focuses on South Asian issues and music. He and an Edmonton police officer co-hosted a radio program. The program, spoken in Punjabi, informed newcomers about traffic law.
"By nature he was a very positive person," said Sehmbi's co-worker Jarnamil Basota. During the seven eight months I had spent with him doing radio programs I have never seen him angry."
The RCMP say they are shocked and deeply saddened by the event.
"It is a truly tragic incident, we again extend our sincere condolences to the victim's family," said Sgt. Taniguchi.
Friends of Rajpinder say the woman's aunt and uncle are due to arrive in Alberta Monday night. The friends tell CTV News the couple had been married for almost ten years and had been sorting through some issues.
Sehmbi remains in the Remand Centre. He has been segregated from other inmates.
He is scheduled to make another court appearance on August 12th.
With files from Sonia Sunger
