'I heard my mother's screams': Girl tells jury of her father's alleged attempts to kill her mum

She was woken by the screams of her mother, Nirmal Kaur, in the early hours of October 22 last year, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

She went into the bedroom of her parents to find her father sitting naked on the bed, holding her mother - who was bleeding heavily from the head - tightly by the arms, the jury heard.

The girl, who cannot be named, said: "I was sleeping in my bedroom. I heard some screams and woke up. My door was closed. Then I went into my mum's room. My dad was sitting there and he was holding my mum's arms very tightly. I asked what happened and asked 'why did she scream?' My mum said 'he tried to kill me.'"

The girl had 'not trusted' her father when he denied this, the jury was told. She continued: "I turned the light on and dad told me to turn it off.

"I said no but did when he told me again. I told my mum there was blood on the bed. She realised she had got hurt on her head. She told my dad there was a lot of blood coming out and said we should call the police. Dad said 'please don't call the police.' But afterwards I called the ambulance and after some time the police also came."

The girl said nobody else was in the house in Edward Street, West Bromwich except her parents and baby sister. She also revealed that her bedroom door had been closed by somebody during the night.

Mr Thomas Kenning, prosecuting, has told the jury that her father, 46-year-old Harjit Singh, tried to kill his wife with a ceremonial sword as she slept and when that failed unsuccessfully attempted to strangle her.

The alleged murder bid was interrupted by the arrival of their daughter, the jury heard. "He made a determined effort to kill her and she received serious, potentially life threatening injuries to her head and neck. A ceremonial sword was found after the incident – a formidable weapon that is likely to have been used to inflict the injury to his wife's head."

The couple had argued over money less than two days earlier but the real motive for the attack might never be known, he claimed.

Singh, an unpaid worker at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara near his home in Edward Street maintained an intruder was to blame for the injuries to his wife. He pleads not guilty to attempted murder and an alternative charge of wounding with intent.