A 26-year-old Mississauga man is facing deportation to India after admitting in court that he attacked Elnaz Hajtamiri a month before her disappearance.
Guilty Plea in Newmarket Court
Sukhpreet Singh pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a Newmarket courtroom to aggravated assault for the December 2021 attack on the Richmond Hill woman in an underground parking garage, CTV News reported.
Hajtamiri, who is missing and presumed dead after being abducted from a home in Wasaga Beach in January 2022, suffered a gash to her forehead after a frying pan was used in the earlier attack and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Singh was taken into custody in June 2025 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in San Antonio, Texas, after spending three years on the run. He was extradited to Ontario last October to face charges including aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
The attack was described by York Regional Police at the time as a failed kidnapping attempt that was foiled by a passerby.
Singh’s Education Plans Derailed
Court heard Singh arrived in Ontario from India in 2020 to attend Sheridan College for business marketing, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his education plans. He then turned to a life of crime to make ends meet while also supporting his mother and sister back home.
As part of the plea deal, Singh received credit for time served equivalent to 18 months and is now in the custody of the Canadian Border Services Agency ahead of his deportation.
Victim Went into Hiding After Attack
Hajtamiri was 37 years old when she was abducted by three masked individuals wearing police gear on Jan. 12, 2022. She had gone into hiding from her former boyfriend, Mohamad Lilo, of Montreal, following the earlier attack.
In early May, Lilo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap Hajtamiri in exchange for the Crown dropping the first-degree murder charges against him, aided by evidence provided by Singh.
Lilo was also convicted last June of aggravated assault in connection with the botched kidnapping attempt and attack on Hajtamiri.
