2018 California newborn murder: Bakshinderpal Sing Mann, father who buried baby then fled to Canada, finally sentenced
One disturbing case began with an illicit sexual relationship that resulted in a woman becoming pregnant and giving birth to a baby, who was promptly killed and buried. The case concluded in California last month when 31-year-old Bakshinderpal Singh Mann was sentenced to six years in prison for time served. Mann, the final defendant in the case, pleaded no contest to his role in the child’s death last year.
Case
The sickening case occurred in 2018 after the baby’s grandmother, Beant Dhillon, drowned in November. She told investigators she killed the baby because her daughter was underage and unmarried.The unmarried mother was 15 when she was conceived by 23-year-old Mann. The mother kept her pregnancy a secret until giving birth on November 12, 2018, in the bathroom of her Bakersfield home. Dhillon immediately took the baby and drowned it because she feared that the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter would bring shame to the family in the local Sikh community.Investigators said Mann helped bury the baby’s body in a shallow grave in the backyard.The teenage mother’s father, Jagsir Singh, told police he was not home during the birth and death of the baby but was told what happened afterward, according to the police report. He told police he allowed the baby to be buried in the backyard and did not seek medical attention for his daughter because he feared his wife would kick him out of the home and he could be deported.
discovery of the case
There were no reports of the newborn’s murder, and no one knew what happened. The teenage mother lost consciousness after giving birth and was later told the baby was put up for adoption. Months later, during a domestic dispute, she learned that the child was actually buried behind the house, and she confided in the school counselor, who called the police. Investigators found the baby’s remains in the backyard on February 26, 2019.Mann was already under immigration custody and had a GPS monitor on him. But after the baby’s remains were discovered, Mann removed the GPS monitor and fled to Canada, where he stayed for two years. He was arrested in Canada in 2021 and remains in Canadian custody after extradition proceedings are completed.He was returned to Kern County in late 2024, entered into a plea agreement in September 2025, and was sentenced in June. Defense lawyer Elliot Magnus said Mann’s time in Canadian custody counted toward his sentence. “Hopefully this brings closure to everyone so they can move on,” Magnus said after the sentencing.
What happened to the others?
Dhillon was convicted of first-degree murder in 2020 and is currently serving 29 years in prison. Jagsir Singh, who was charged as an accessory to the crime, committed suicide in 2019 after being released on bail.
