Penal man, 54, shot dead in bed

A 54-year-old man from Penal was shot and killed in his bed beside his wife overnight on Sunday.

Narine "Rikki" Singh, a handyman from Charlo Village, did not see the killer or killers who pried open a window and fired several shots.

Singh’s widow Marla Bajnath-Singh, 58, recalled seeing him take his last breath.

Speaking to Newsday on Monday morning, Bajnath-Singh said she and Singh had been together for over 30 years.

After watching TV in bed on the ground floor of the family’s home, the couple went to sleep at around 9 pm on Sunday.

Shortly before 12 am on Monday, the two were awakened by a noise outside.

From his bed, Singh asked: "Who is that?"

"That was it. The person just shot. No one responded. I saw Narine took his last breath. He died on the bed. My husband did not get a chance to get off the bed to look outside or anything," Bajnath-Singh said.

She was not injured, and there were no reports of other injuries.

Members of their extended family live on the first floor.

From what she was told, dogs, including the family's pet, Scooby Doo, were heard barking in the yard before the shooting. But she was sound asleep and did not hear the dogs.

She said Singh worked as a handyman at a company in El Socorro and was expected to go to work early on Monday.

"He did not use to meddle with people. He lived good with people.

"This area used to be quiet, but it is now hot. I was born and grew up here."

The widow said Singh had no enemies as far as the family knew.

The police do not have a motive for his murder.

South-Western Division and Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region III police gathered evidence.