• 7 years ago
• Posted in:Murder/ Manslaughter, Violent Offences
• 0
• Author: melodie
• Tags: Aged 30-39, Category A prisoner, Convicted 2011, Detransitioned, Diminished responsibility, England, HMP Belmarsh, Life sentence, London, Low tariff, Mental health, Nina Kanagasingham, Not guilty by reason of insanity, Offended 2010, Offending coincided with transitioning, PoC victim, Prison death, Prison transition, Public transport, Reported as woman, Schizophrenia, Senthooran Kanagasingham, Suicide, Trans victim, Trans woman

Senthooran / Nina Kanagasingham, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was cleared of murdering trans woman Sonia/David Burgess, but admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Kanagasingham, 35, of Cricklewood, north London, was jailed for life in December 2011 and ordered to serve at least seven years. Kanagasingham pushed Burgess – a prominent immigration and human rights lawyer – under a Tube train at King’s Cross in October 2010. 

The jury heard Kanagasingham was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and the victim had introduced Kanagasingham to his GP after becoming worried about the killer’s mental state. The victim had also articulated fears over the effects of hormones prescribed to Kanagasingham who was undergoing transition at the time.

Screenshot of Oxford Mail article

Kanagasingham was referred to as a woman rather than a trans woman in some media coverage.

While in prison Kanagasingham had stopped taking female hormones and repeatedly requested anti-psychotic medication dose be reduced, although the prison chaplain had discussed gender identity issues with the prisoner.

Kanagasingham, aged 37, was found dead in HMP Belmarsh on April 8, 2013. A prisoner in the cell opposite, claims he heard shouting around 10:30pm the previous evening. At the time of writing, reports of the inquest verdict could not be located online, although Beverley Clarke, a prison governor, told the hearing that “after an investigation, Belmarsh was satisfied Kanagasingham carried out the act himself.”

Prisons & Probation Ombudsman report on the death of the prisoner: http://www.ppo.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/J008-13-Death-of-a-male-prisoner-Belmarsh-08-04-2013-SID-31-401.pdf#view=FitH

(There are conflicting reports in the media about how the victim identified, with David/Sonia Burgess reported as presenting as a man at work and as a woman outside work, and having separate groups of friends: those who knew him as David and those who knew him exclusively as Sonia. We have referred to David/Sonia as a trans woman but used male pronouns as per the friends and family interviewed in an extensive Guardian feature linked below.)

See also Paris Bregazzi who pushed an off-duty police officer onto railway tracks at a station in West London in 2017.

Photo: Met Police

Media reports:

The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/09/david-burgess-sonia-lawyer-death  archive

BBC http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-16305570  archive

Evening Standard http://www.standard.co.uk/news/woman-accused-of-pushing-man-under-tube-train-was-hyper-says-witness-6529110.html  archive

Daily Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/transvestite-killer-found-suffocated-plastic-5177700  archive

Evening Standard http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/inmates-heard-shouts-of-help-me-before-transexual-prisoner-was-found-dead-10053295.html  archive

Oxford Mail http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8487220.Woman_in_court_over_Tube_murder/ archive