BURLINGTON, VT - A man in his forties allegedly beat his wife to death with a large black and green flashlight in front of three kids. The husband reportedly ignored his daughter's pleas to stop the horrific assault.
The suspect, 44-year-old Bal Khadka, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Lila Darjee Khadka. He is also charged with three counts of child cruelty, Law & Crime reported.
In a press release, the Burlington Police Department (BPD) said that officers responded shortly before 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10 to an apartment in the 200 block of S. Champlain Street after receiving several 911 calls about a fight in progress and someone in need of an ambulance.
Police entered the apartment and found the unresponsive victim lying in a bed with "substantial injuries" to her head. Paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital, where she was first listed in critical condition. She died the next day. Investigators learned that Bal Khadka repeatedly bludgeoned his wife with a large flashlight.
An arrest affidavit said three kids under the age of 10 saw the beating, with one of them recording it. On the audio recording, the 10-year-old girl can be heard yelling "dad no," and screaming. Officers found the frantic, crying girl outside the apartment building. She told officers that she and her friend were having a sleepover.
She said she and her friend saw her father allegedly beat her mother with the flashlight, so they escaped through a window. When officers encountered the alleged suspect, he reportedly said "hello" in a low voice while trying to put shoes on a young child in the home and acted as if everything was normal.
Police later recovered the flashlight in a bedroom dresser drawer. The husband was arrested and transported to the police station. During an interview with officers, Bal Khadka appeared "stone-faced" and "appeared unaffected by the incident," according to the affidavit.
The kids told police that Bal Khadka had been using drugs. He was reportedly arrested for aggravated domestic assault against his wife in 2020, but prosecutors dismissed the case after the wife declined to testify. Bal Khadka is currently being held at Northwest State Correctional Facility without bond.
The suspect, 44-year-old Bal Khadka, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Lila Darjee Khadka. He is also charged with three counts of child cruelty, Law & Crime reported.
In a press release, the Burlington Police Department (BPD) said that officers responded shortly before 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10 to an apartment in the 200 block of S. Champlain Street after receiving several 911 calls about a fight in progress and someone in need of an ambulance.
Police entered the apartment and found the unresponsive victim lying in a bed with "substantial injuries" to her head. Paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital, where she was first listed in critical condition. She died the next day. Investigators learned that Bal Khadka repeatedly bludgeoned his wife with a large flashlight.
An arrest affidavit said three kids under the age of 10 saw the beating, with one of them recording it. On the audio recording, the 10-year-old girl can be heard yelling "dad no," and screaming. Officers found the frantic, crying girl outside the apartment building. She told officers that she and her friend were having a sleepover.
She said she and her friend saw her father allegedly beat her mother with the flashlight, so they escaped through a window. When officers encountered the alleged suspect, he reportedly said "hello" in a low voice while trying to put shoes on a young child in the home and acted as if everything was normal.
Police later recovered the flashlight in a bedroom dresser drawer. The husband was arrested and transported to the police station. During an interview with officers, Bal Khadka appeared "stone-faced" and "appeared unaffected by the incident," according to the affidavit.
The kids told police that Bal Khadka had been using drugs. He was reportedly arrested for aggravated domestic assault against his wife in 2020, but prosecutors dismissed the case after the wife declined to testify. Bal Khadka is currently being held at Northwest State Correctional Facility without bond.
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