Husband not co-operating with probe into wife's murder

Yahoo

22-07-2025

A mother walking home alone through a city park at night is stabbed in the neck and left to die.
Ten years after the brutal murder and following an inquest, police have made a last-ditch plea for information to track down her killer and whoever helped organise what police believe was a targeted attack.
Prabha Arun Kumar was found unresponsive and bleeding profusely in Parramatta Park in Sydney's west on March 7, 2015, and died in hospital hours later.
The 41-year-old was on the phone to her husband Arun in India when she was stabbed in the neck, with Mr Kumar reporting hearing his wife confronted by her attacker.
He was having an affair while overseas in India at the time of the killing and remains a significant focus of the police investigation, amid suspicion he may have been involved in arranging her murder, the inquest was told.
He received $631,000 in financial benefits including workers' compensation, superannuation and unpaid leave following Ms Kumar's death, the inquest was told, and deleted call history and WhatsApp messages as he waited to board a plane to Sydney after his wife was stabbed.
Mr Kumar has never been charged over his wife's death and police have not identified her attacker.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said Mr Kumar was not co-operating with police.
"He was invited ... to attend the inquest and wasn't compelled, and he didn't respond to that," he said.
"Telecommunication records of suspects, persons of interest, witnesses are very important to criminal investigations and coronial matters ... without those records, it makes it more difficult for investigators to establish where the truth lies."
Det Supt Doueihi addressed media on Tuesday, flanked by Ms Kumar's sister Shuba who has been in Australia for the inquest.
He conceded the investigation was at a dead end, with a $1 million reward announced in October 2024 not eliciting any major information.
Two people involved in suspicious sightings in the area on the night of the attack - a person seen in a nearby golf club and another hiding in a resident's backyard - have not been identified.
"I cannot see this investigation progressing without the assistance of the public, it is absolutely essential," Det Supt Doueihi said.
"I'm confident that there is someone out there that knows what happened, that knows who is responsible for this crime."
The death is being treated as a targeted attack and police have dismissed any thought it was linked to robbery, sexual violence or racial bias.
Investigators previously flew to India and interviewed a number of individuals, including Mr Kumar.
The husband, who lived in Bangalore with the couple's daughter, flew to Australia when he learned of his wife's death.
She was said to be only weeks away from moving back to India because she missed her family.
The case has been referred to the NSW Police unsolved homicide squad for further investigation.