I LIVE IN THEIR HONOUR

TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE BRUTAL SLAYING OF HER THREE CHILDREN, SHIRLEY SINGH SHARES HOW SHE KEEPS GOING

Shirley Singh and her husband, Vijay, were in Fiji in April 2003 when three of their four children were murdered in their Brisbane home. Neelma, 24, Kunal, 18, and Sidhi, 12, were brutally slain by Massimo ‘Max’ Sica, then 33, Neelma’s ex-boyfriend. They were all beaten with a garden fork and their bodies dumped in an overflowing spa bath. After a lengthy investigation and trial, Sica was finally found guilty of the heinous killings and, in July 2012, was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 35 years. In this exclusive extract from a new book, Shirley tells how she has survived not only this brutal crime but the devastating loss of eldest daughter Archana, 43, from a brain aneurysm in 2020.

I will never get over the deaths of my children. I will forever live with their memory, proud of who they were. Today, I still live in the house where my children were murdered. Each night, I light a candle for them. I talk to them and lie in their bed. To others this may seem weird, but to me this is life.

I have never felt scared in the house, even following their deaths. To me, our house feels peaceful. My children were good spirits, and the house is one filled with happiness.