Inside killer truckie Mohinder Singh's descent into drug-fuel madness before crash killed 4 cops


Huddled together with a beer in hand, the families of four slain police officers stand together and recount stories of their loved ones. 

Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney hadn’t stood a chance. 

Truck driver Mohinder Singh was in his own words ‘off his head’ when he ran them down almost a year ago. 

Mohinder Singh thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up the the horrific crash on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway on April 22

Mohinder Singh thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up the the horrific crash on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on April 22

Left to right: Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney all died in the crash

Left to right: Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney all died in the crash

Mohinder Singh Bajwa's truck careered off the highway and into the car of Richard Pusey, who had been pulled over by the officers for speeding

Mohinder Singh Bajwa’s truck careered off the highway and into the car of Richard Pusey, who had been pulled over by the officers for speeding

On Wednesday, Singh was sentenced to a minimum of 18 and a half years behind bars – a little over four-and-a-half years each for the lives he crushed. 

Andrew Prestney – the father of Josh – had faced off with Singh in the Supreme Court of Victoria during a pre-trial hearing. 

Standing in the witness box, the devastated dad provided a powerful and heart breaking victim impact statement directly to the man who had ruined so many lives. 

After the sentence, at Slate Rooftop Bar across the road from Melbourne’s Supreme Court, Mr Prestney couldn’t bare to dwell worth of his son’s life. 

‘We can’t think that way,’ he said, before returning to his beer.

No-one but Singh will truly know the reasons why his life had descended into a blur of drugs and booze.

He had been born in Lali – a small village in the Punjab in India – 48 years ago. 

He was only a little boy when he came to Australia with his mother in 1978. 

By then, his father and younger brother had already migrated to Australia. 

Singh was naturalised an Australian just two years later as the family settled in Griffith, New South Wales. 

Andrew and Belinda Prestney (left) delivered powerful victim impact statements at Singh's plea hearing in Melbourne

Andrew and Belinda Prestney (left) delivered powerful victim impact statements at Singh’s plea hearing in Melbourne 

In chains: Mohinder Singh Bajwa arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne

In chains: Mohinder Singh Bajwa arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne

Family life was difficult for Singh, who was often left to care for his younger brother while his mum worked.  

Singh’s parents quarreled, but otherwise it was a happy, ordinary household. 

In 1987, Singh’s life was turned upside down when his father divorced his mother and married her sister in India. 

If that wasn’t strange enough, the couple returned to Australia and moved into the family home in Griffith. 

Singh’s dad allegedly became violent towards his mother and his school grades plummeted amid the turmoil.

He had been asleep next to his father when his mum went at him with a knife. 

Singh was forced to intervene and his dad and auntie moved out of the house. 

The following year, when Singh was aged about 17, he began seeing ghosts. 

He told his mum he had seen a lady sitting on his bed and the chest in his room had been following him around. 

The teenage Singh conducted a séance, in which he claimed the table moved about on its own and knives flew through the air. 

He sought help from police, but matters of the dark arts were hardly a police speciality. 

Singh become obsessed with the supernatural. 

Mohinder Singh (right) was married with two children when he killed four police officers. He had spent days with other women doing drugs

Mohinder Singh (right) was married with two children when he killed four police officers. He had spent days with other women doing drugs

Family of Mohinder Singh arrives at court on Wednesday before his sentence

Family of Mohinder Singh arrives at court on Wednesday before his sentence

Singh packed up and left home before he had completed Year 11. 

Homeless, he shunned his father and moved north to Queensland. 

By 1994 he was back in NSW living with his mum and her new partner in Leeton. 

He had started seeing ghosts again and other supernatural phenomena.

Two years later, Singh was married off in India by his father.

His wife became pregnant and they returned to Australia where in 1997 their son was born.

A daughter followed two years later.  

Singh was finally happy. 

But the demon drugs were never far from Singh’s mind.

He had been using marijuana since he was a teenager. 

When Singh turned 20, he turned to amphetamines, blowing about $100 a week on it over the next 10 years. 

By the time Singh turned 30, he had upped to methamphetamine – the deadly drug ice – which he would snort up his nose.

For whatever reason, Singh spent the next 13 years abusing alcohol – dumping the demon drug that would ultimately reclaim his life. 

In about 2004, Singh began a car-carrying business and moved his family to Melbourne. 

In 2007 they moved from Endeavour Hills – southeast of Melbourne – to Cranbourne just down the road. 

Singh would get blind drunk and ramble on about the ghosts he had seen at the old family home in Griffiths.  

Police officers lined the streets during the repatriation ceremony of Constable Glen Humphris at Hovell Tree Park in Albury on May 2

Police officers lined the streets during the repatriation ceremony of Constable Glen Humphris at Hovell Tree Park in Albury on May 2

Floral tributes before the funeral of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne last April

Floral tributes before the funeral of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne last April

Singh's family is confronted by photographers outside the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne before his sentence on Wednesday

Singh’s family is confronted by photographers outside the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne before his sentence on Wednesday 

He scored a job with transport giant Toll, but by the following year he was back in NSW living with his mum again.

Singh claimed to have seen UFOs following his car and that they had repeatedly tried to hijack his vehicle on a particular stretch of road in NSW. 

He left Toll in 2012 to become a full time booze hound, drinking himself stupid day after day.

After three years on the bottle, Singh returned to work driving trucks. 

In 2016 he joined Connect Logistics – the company he would be hauling for when he killed the police officers. 

Singh had only been there a short while before he started hitting the ice pipe again, snorting and injecting up to a gram a week.

Like many a long haul driver, Singh claimed the drugs helped keep him focused during long stints behind the wheel at night.

He developed a gambling habit and started with sports betting before moving onto the pokies. 

Before long the gambling debts began to pile up and drug dealing seemed like a good way to deal with the problem. 

Singh took out $30,000 in loans in his wife’s name and misused her credit card. 

Mohinder Singh (left) had been repeatedly warned to get some rest. He refused to listen and went onto kill four police officers

Mohinder Singh (left) had been repeatedly warned to get some rest. He refused to listen and went onto kill four police officers 

Mohinder Singh thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up to the horrific crash on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway on April 22

Mohinder Singh thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up to the horrific crash on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on April 22

Singh's truck crashed into the back of Richard Pusey's Porshe, crushing Leading Senior Constable Taylor in the process

Singh’s truck crashed into the back of Richard Pusey’s Porshe, crushing Leading Senior Constable Taylor in the process

He began seeing lights in the sky and believed them to be the spirits of dead prisoners. 

Aggressive, forgetful, Singh moved on from Connect to yet another transport company. 

But he was back at Connect within months after complaining of bullying and racism. 

The visions became more regular, with Singh seeing things such as old soldiers, dead Aborigines and lights pursuing him. 

A month before his deadly drive, Singh told his brother he had seen stick figures.

In the days leading up to the collision Singh continued to see the mysterious figures, which he believed to be a result of a witch’s curse.

His own son told him to go and see a psychiatrist to get some help. 

Instead, he prayed with a lay pastor at the transport depot in the belief it could banish his imaginary tormentors. 

On the day he would kill, a junkie mate described Singh’s state as the most ‘drug f**ked’ he had seen anyone in his entire life. 

Singh had been on the bender of all drug benders when he agreed to get behind the wheel of a 20-tonne truck and perform a delivery of frozen chickens. 

He had been abusing methamphetamines, cannabis, pills and booze to the point of psychosis. 

By the time he ran his truck off the Eastern Freeway he had the blood alcohol content equivalent of a 0.3 reading – five times the legal limit.  

A virtual zombie, Singh did not even hit the brakes upon hitting the officers. 

Police believe he had only slept about five hours in the past 72 hours before the tragedy. 

Singh was sentenced to a maximum penalty of 22 years in jail.  

Police remove the crumpled wreck of the marked police vehicle that had been driven by two officers called into help arrest Richard Pusey

Police remove the crumpled wreck of the marked police vehicle that had been driven by two officers called into help arrest Richard Pusey 

Singh had been dealing drugs out of the truck he went onto kill four with on April 22

Singh had been dealing drugs out of the truck he went onto kill four with on April 22

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton (L) and Victoria Police Chaplain Dave Thompson lead the hearse out at the funeral of Senior Constable Kevin King on May 1

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton (L) and Victoria Police Chaplain Dave Thompson lead the hearse out at the funeral of Senior Constable Kevin King on May 1

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