COMMITTAL HEARING STARTS AGAIN

Sica defence tells court of angry SMS from Neelma Singh to another man before her death

Petrina Berry From: The Courier-Mail September 20, 2010 8:00PM

AN acrimonious message was sent by Neelma Singh to a man the night before she and her siblings were killed in their Brisbane home, a court has heard.
Neelma, 24, and siblings Kunal, 18, and Sidhi, 12, were found dead in their Bridgeman Downs home, on Brisbane's northside, in April 2003.

Max Sica, Neelma's former boyfriend, is facing three charges of murder over the deaths. His committal hearing resumed in the Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday after a 10-week adjournment.

Sica's defence counsel, Sam Di Carlo, told the court Neelma sent an angry SMS message to a man by the name of Mr Lala, saying: "Before you accuse me, get your story straight. You have no right to say what you did".

"Then there is a message from him (Mr Lala) the following morning, at 9.55am, which states: 'Can you meet me at the park behind my old house at 10.30am'," Mr Di Carlo said.

"This was almost the last contact, other than with Max Sica, with a person who appears she (Neelma) had some acrimony with in respect of bad-mouthing her around the place and he wants to meet her at 10.30. In the meantime she's dead."

Mr Di Carlo asked investigator Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Massingham what inquiries police had made into Mr Lala.

Det Sen Sgt Massingham said statements from Mr Lala and his parents were taken and police understood he was at a wedding in bayside Sandgate the night before the Singhs were found dead.

Mr Di Carlo asked what other investigations were conducted into Mr Lala, including finding where he was at the time he replied to Neelma's text message the following morning. Det Sen Sgt Massingham said further inquiries would have been made.

"That inquiry (which mobile tower the message came from) would have been made by the intel (intelligence) office at this time. I don't have any recollection as to which tower it may or may not have bounced off," he said.

Mr Di Carlo told the court: "You (police) may not have been interested in anyone else but Max (Sica)."

Earlier in the day, the court heard an accusation that the children's mother, Shirley Singh, was having an affair with a younger man.

Psychic reader Helen Hextall told the court about the many conversations she had with Ms Singh before the murders.

She said Ms Singh had spoken of her affair with an Australian man 10 years her junior.

"She asked me if I thought he was a player," Ms Hextall said.

The hearing resumes on Tuesday.