# Murder of Aurman Singh
The murder of Aurman Singh was the killing of a 23-year-old DPD parcel delivery driver from Smethwick, near Birmingham, who was attacked by a group of masked men while making deliveries in Berwick Avenue, Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, on 21 August 2023 and pronounced dead at the scene.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dpd-shropshire-shrewsbury-birmingham-west-mercia-police-b2398265.html) The attack was planned rather than a robbery: after an incident involving Singh the previous day, the group used a contact inside DPD to obtain his delivery route and lay in wait for him.[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) Seven men were eventually convicted in connection with the killing, receiving a combined total of 178 years in prison, and two further suspects remained wanted as of April 2025.[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/) • [2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Victim | Aurman Singh, 23, of Smethwick, a DPD delivery worker, killed in Berwick Avenue, Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, on 21 August 2023[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dpd-shropshire-shrewsbury-birmingham-west-mercia-police-b2398265.html) |
| Method | Ambush by masked men in daylight, using weapons including an axe, golf club, hockey stick, shovel, metal bar, knife, cricket bat and wooden stave[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) • [2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) |
| Planning | After an incident the previous day at a Kabaddi tournament in Derbyshire, the group obtained Singh's delivery route through an inside contact at DPD[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) • [3](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/) |
| First convictions | Four men sentenced to 28 years each for murder in April 2024, and Sukhmandeep Singh to 10 years for manslaughter, a combined 122 years[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) |
| Fugitives | Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh fled the UK days after the attack and were arrested at an address in Hohenzell, Austria, on 20 May 2024[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) |
| Final sentencing | Both were found guilty at Stafford Crown Court on 31 March 2025 after a three-week trial and sentenced on 11 April 2025 to life with a minimum of 28 years each[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/dpd-driver-murder-austria-b2725024.html) |
| Still wanted | Harpreet Singh and Harwinder Singh Turna remained wanted in connection with the case as of April 2025[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) |
## The attack
Singh was working in tandem with another DPD worker on his rounds in the middle of the day when the group of masked men ambushed him.[6](https://inview.info/news/174564-armed-gang_who_hacked_dpd_driver_to_death_with_an_axe_convicted_of_horrific_killing/print) • [2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) His colleague, spotting the men hunting Singh down, rushed away and shouted at his friend to run for his life.[6](https://inview.info/news/174564-armed-gang_who_hacked_dpd_driver_to_death_with_an_axe_convicted_of_horrific_killing/print) Singh was struck with a range of weapons, including an axe, a golf club, a hockey stick and a shovel; the axe fractured his skull, the golf club was swung with such force that its head broke off, and a knife wound to his back cut through one of his ribs.[6](https://inview.info/news/174564-armed-gang_who_hacked_dpd_driver_to_death_with_an_axe_convicted_of_horrific_killing/print) • [2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) His injuries were described in court as so severe that there was no chance of him surviving.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to)
The suspects fled in a white Mercedes Benz and a gray Audi, discarding some weapons at nearby Hubert Way.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) Police followed the Audi toward Tipton in the West Midlands, where its occupants were filmed dumping the axe, wrapped in a gray hoodie, in a bin.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) Detective Chief Inspector Mark Bellamy of West Mercia Police, the senior investigating officer, said early in the inquiry that police did not believe the killing arose from Singh's work as a delivery person and were not treating it as a robbery, and that those involved appeared to be known to each other and not local to [Shrewsbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/shrewsbury) or the wider West Mercia area.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dpd-shropshire-shrewsbury-birmingham-west-mercia-police-b2398265.html)
## Investigation and first convictions
West Mercia Police arrested four men in their 20s on suspicion of murder in the days after the killing, along with a fifth man in [Peterborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/peterborough) on suspicion of assisting an offender.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dpd-shropshire-shrewsbury-birmingham-west-mercia-police-b2398265.html) Four men were charged with murder on 25 August 2023: Arshdeep Singh, 24, of Shaw Road in Tipton; Jagdeep Singh, of Goodrich Mews in [Dudley](https://www.edgepedia.org/dudley); Shivdeep Singh, of Greenfield Road in Smethwick; and [Manjot Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/manjot-singh), 24, also of Greenfield Road.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/shrewsbury-dpd-west-mercia-police-dudley-tipton-b2399553.html)
**Verdicts and sentences.** At trial, the four men were unanimously convicted of murder, and all four were sentenced to 28 years each.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) Sukhmandeep Singh, described as the "inside man", was acquitted of murder but unanimously convicted of manslaughter and received 10 years; according to police, he supplied information about Aurman Singh's deliveries on the day he was killed.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to) • [8](https://thesikhtimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SIKH-TIMES-WEBSITE-PAGE-7.pdf) The five sentences totaled 122 years.[4](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to)
## The fugitives and the second trial
Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh fled the scene in the white Mercedes, then took a taxi to Shrewsbury Railway Station and a train to [Wolverhampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolverhampton) before leaving the UK several days later.[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/dpd-driver-murder-austria-b2725024.html) Police located the pair in Austria and arrested them at an address in Hohenzell on 20 May 2024.[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) The two men, charged in July 2024, were both of Hohenzell in Austria.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/shrewsbury-austria-dpd-tipton-dudley-b2582559.html)
**Second convictions.** A jury found Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh guilty at Stafford Crown Court on 31 March 2025 after a three-week trial; they were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years each on 11 April 2025.[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/dpd-driver-murder-austria-b2725024.html) Judge Simon Hirst described the attack as a "carefully planned and executed murder" with the victim "totally unaware" that the gang were lying in wait.[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/) At the sentencing hearing, Singh's mother, Kuljit Kaur, described her son as a "beacon of love and kindness" whose future had been "stolen by the hands of strangers".[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/) CCTV footage shown publicly captured the two men calmly ordering coffee at a [Starbucks](https://www.edgepedia.org/starbucks) in the moments after the killing.[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack)
Two further men, Harpreet Singh and Harwinder Singh Turna, were still wanted in connection with the case after the 2025 sentencing.[2](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack)
## In the media
The murder and its investigation were covered in the BBC documentary series *[Murder 24/7](https://www.edgepedia.org/murder-24-7)*, in which a film crew followed West Mercia Police; the case, dubbed "The DPD Murder" by the program-makers, unfolds over two and a half episodes of the second series, broadcast in 2025.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jun/16/24-7-review-bbc-aurman-singh-murder-investigation) A third-series episode, "DPD Murder Part 4: Killers on the Run", was scheduled for broadcast on [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) on 28 July and follows the hunt for the two fugitives hiding in Austria.[11](https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/brutal-shrewsbury-dpd-murder-to-feature-in-documentary-series-8810622)
## References
1. [Delivery worker who died in attack is named as police arrest fifth suspect, The Independent (23 August 2023)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dpd-shropshire-shrewsbury-birmingham-west-mercia-police-b2398265.html)
2. [Two men sentenced to life in prison after axe attack on DPD delivery driver in Shrewsbury, ITV News Central (11 April 2025)](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-04-11/two-men-jailed-for-murdering-dpd-delivery-driver-in-axe-attack)
3. [Two men jailed for life for Aurman Singh's murder, Eastern Eye (12 April 2025)](https://www.easterneye.biz/two-men-jailed-for-life-for-aurman-singhs-murder/)
4. [Armed mob convicted of killing DPD worker jailed for total of 122 years, ITV News Central (12 April 2024)](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2024-04-12/armed-mob-convicted-of-killing-dpd-worker-sentenced-to)
5. [Moment police snare killers who fled abroad after murdering DPD driver, The Independent (1 April 2025)](https://www.the-independent.com/tv/news/dpd-driver-murder-austria-b2725024.html)
6. [Armed gang who hacked DPD driver to death with an axe convicted of horrific killing, InView (29 March 2024)](https://inview.info/news/174564-armed-gang_who_hacked_dpd_driver_to_death_with_an_axe_convicted_of_horrific_killing/print)
7. [Four men charged with murder of delivery worker, The Independent (25 August 2023)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/shrewsbury-dpd-west-mercia-police-dudley-tipton-b2399553.html)
8. [The Sikh Times, 14 April 2024, e-paper page](https://thesikhtimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SIKH-TIMES-WEBSITE-PAGE-7.pdf)
9. [Two more men charged in connection with delivery driver's murder, The Independent (19 July 2024)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/shrewsbury-austria-dpd-tipton-dudley-b2582559.html)
10. [Murder 24/7 review, The Guardian (16 June 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jun/16/24-7-review-bbc-aurman-singh-murder-investigation)
11. [Brutal Shrewsbury DPD murder to feature in documentary series, Shropshire Star (21 July 2026)](https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/brutal-shrewsbury-dpd-murder-to-feature-in-documentary-series-8810622)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Criminal law and penal justice › Serial killers and notorious murder cases (biographies and cases) › Notorious single murder cases*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license