Lorenzo Tangira, 28, has pleaded guilty to the murder of 25-year-old India-born security guard Ramandeep Singh, who was brutally attacked and killed nearly two years ago while finishing his shift at Massey’s Royal Reserve in West Auckland. Tangira and his teenage accomplice assaulted Singh at the park, leading to his death on the spot. The Auckland High Court has scheduled sentencing for next month.

He was charged with his murder a day after the incident, which occurred in December 2023.

Singh went to New Zealand in 2018 from the village of Kotli Shahpur in Punjab’s Gurdaspur. He was his parents’ only child and had reportedly moved to New Zealand on a study visa to pursue higher education after finishing school in India.

Singh’s family watched the trial-turned-arraignment from overseas via an audio-video feed on Monday, according to a report in The New Zealand Herald.

Details of the gruesome murder were reported for the first time after Tangira opted to plead guilty rather than begin a three-week trial.

As per the newspaper, Ramandeep Singh was punched, kicked and stomped on, knocking out his teeth and breaking his jaw in multiple places. His skull, cheek bones and orbital sockets sustained multiple fractures and he suffered significant brain damage, a post-mortem exam would later reveal.

Tangira and the teenager, who was found unfit to stand trial during the hearing in April, brutally beat Singh after an argument broke out between Singh and the teenager. Tangira quickly jumped in to join in on the attack, a news website, Newstalk ZB, reported.

In his final moments of consciousness, neighbours reportedly heard him crying out for help.

Tangira had been drinking at his home that night before heading to the park roughly 200 metres away with the teenager. Despite being found unfit to face trial, a judge found the teenager to have been involved in the killing.

PUNCHED, KICKED, STOMPED ON: COURT DOCUMENTS

“He grabbed Mr Singh by the rear of his high-visibility vest and swung him around and proceeded to forcefully punch him repeatedly in the face,” the newspaper reported, citing the summary of the court documents of Tangira.

Singh collapsed to the ground, bleeding from injuries to his face, then managed to reach his work vehicle in an attempt to flee. The teenager reportedly leapt onto the bonnet, trying to block his escape.

“During the pursuit of Singh, Tangira’s hand was shut in the door of the vehicle,” court documents stated. “After this, Tangira tried to reach him through the back of the vehicle. After Singh was finally dragged out of the vehicle, the attack by Tangira and the teenager went on,” the court documents stated.

Local residents heard Singh’s cries for help during the assault and contacted police. However, by the time officers arrived, the attackers had fled and Singh had succumbed to his injuries.

His body was found dragged into nearby bushes close to his vehicle, partially unclothed, with his garments torn off during the violent struggle.

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