Hayes couple starved daughter, 3, to death, Old Bailey hears

A couple murdered their three-year-old daughter by deliberately starving her over many months, a court has heard.

Penelope Chandrie’s emaciated and bruised body was found wrapped in a sheet at the family home in Hayes, west London, on 17 December 2023. She was found to have died from malnutrition.

It is the Crown’s case that Jaskiret Singh Uppal, 36 and Manpreet Jatana, 34, mistreated their daughter over an “extended period of time” and “deliberately starved” her, prosecutor Philip McGhee told the Old Bailey.

The couple were remanded in custody ahead of a plea hearing set for 16 December.

The court heard that the couple failed to register Penelope’s birth, provide her with GP care and “isolated” themselves from the wider world.

When the child died, it is alleged they initially thought of cremating the body in the back garden of their home before contacting a funeral director.

Tests following Penelope’s death indicated “starvation over a prolonged period of many months culminating in fatal ketoacidosis”, Mr McGhee said.

There were also marks to her neck “consistent with the use of bindings”, and injuries to her hands consistent with a sharp object such as a knife, the court was told.

At the time the child died, officers found the defendants’ home to be in a “poor” condition, and the family’s vegetarian diet mainly consisted of yogurt, lentils and butter, Mr McGhee said.

What appeared to be a ligature was found attached to the bannisters on the stairs, the court was told.

Mr Uppal appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey and Ms Jatana via videolink from Bronzefield Prison.

In addition to the murder charge, the defendants are accused of manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and abandoning a child or causing them unnecessary suffering or injury.