PRETTY Kuldeep Kaur Sidhu had everything to live for.
The part-time nursery nurse who loved children, and was described as the heart and soul of her family, was in the early stages of pregnancy.
It was, no doubt, something she was excited about and news that she couldn’t wait to share with her close-knit family.
But her promising life – and that of her baby – was tragically ended in May 2008.
Kuldeep’s badly burned body was found by firefighters at the foot of the stairs of the home she shared with her husband in Quinton.
She had a ligature around her neck in what police believe was an attempt to make it look like she had taken her own life. Her body had also been set on fire.
However, officers remain convinced the pretty 25-year-old, known to friends and family as Kully, was murdered. But what exactly happened to her has dogged detectives for 20 months.
Kuldeep was last seen alive by her husband of six months, Baljinder Sidhu, aged 27, when he left their home on Glyn Farm Road to go to work at about 8am on May 14, 2008.
Shortly before 4pm that day, firefighters were alerted after an elderly next door neighbour of Kully discovered smoke in her bedroom and raised the alarm.
They found her body when they broke into the house.
Murder squad detectives said there was evidence of “manual strangulation” and Kully was dead before her body was set on fire.
An apparent handwritten suicide note was found on a table in the lounge. Police believe it was written by a third party who had knowledge of her death.
A section of the letter released by police, read: “I am Kully and I am having this letter written for my mum and dad. My friend is writting (sic) it for me. Love you mum and dad.”
Handwriting experts were called in to examine the note in an attempt to identify the author.
After her death, Kully’s family discovered she was six weeks pregnant with her first child.
The house was sealed off for weeks while fire investigators and scenes of crime experts carried out a painstaking search for any clues about what happened to her.
A 27-year-old Handsworth man was arrested over her murder and a 48-year-old woman, also from Handsworth, was arrested at the same time on suspicion of making threats to kill, although no charges were brought. But police continue the hunt for the killer in the hope of bringing some peace to Kuldeep’s family.
Det Ch Insp Steve Bimson from the Major Investigation Unit said: “The note found at the scene was written by somebody else, and proves that somebody knows about Kully’s death. It is vital that we speak to whoever has written the note.
“Maybe somebody recognises the handwriting, or knows something about the author of this note. We also need anybody who witnessed any suspicious activity around her house, or saw Kully walking her dog that morning, to come forward and tell us what they know.
“It may only be a very small piece of information, but it could be extremely helpful to our enquiry.
“Anybody who knows anything should contact the police.”