Immigrant Guilty of Manslaughter in Strangling of Wife

A 26-year-old Indian immigrant was found guilty Friday of voluntary manslaughter in the August strangulation of his wife in their Woodland Hills town house.

The verdict by a jury in the courtroom of Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber was considered a victory for the defendant, Nandan Lal, who had been charged with the murder of his wife, Mandeep Kaur, 25.

Lal admitted on the witness stand during the three-week trial that he killed his wife, but he claimed that he lost control after an argument and did not know what he was doing.

Jurors said after the verdict that they believed that Lal was acting out of rage, resulting in a finding of manslaughter rather than murder.

Lal claimed that his wife was domineering and allowed him no independence. He testified that she prevented him from getting a job and would not allow him to have contact with his family in India.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Deborah L. Kranze argued during the trial that Lal’s version of the events should not be believed because he had proven himself a liar during the week after Kaur’s death.

Dumped Body in Desert

Lal said on the witness stand that he killed his wife Aug. 18 and dumped her body in the desert near Barstow. He admitted that, for six days after the killing, he told her friends, family and police that she had disappeared after leaving on a business trip to Santa Barbara.

Lal said he finally told police the truth on Aug. 24, and led investigators the next day to the area where he had left her body.

Kranze argued that Lal intentionally killed Kaur because she wanted to divorce him and cut him off financially from her lucrative clothing distribution business. Kranze also asserted that, even if Lal’s version of the events were to be believed, the arguments between the couple were not sufficient provocation to cause him to lose control.

Lal, who will be sentenced by Haber on March 26, could receive 11 years in state prison.