Less than 24 hours after a white Hyundai Kona was found sitting unlocked in the middle of the intersection at Jellicoe Street and Gordon Avenue, Darling Downs detectives immediately sensed something was deeply wrong.
The vehicle was abandoned, belongings were left intact, but 30-year-old mother Jana Armstrong had vanished without a trace.
Amidst that chaotic scene on West Street, a 48-year-old man emerged holding a four-month-old infant in his arms.
He appeared calm, fully cooperative, and nodded at every question.
Jana Armstrong, 30, was last seen parking her white Hyundai Kona on Monday afternoon . Picture: Supplied
Jana was last seen wearing a green and white striped shirt on July 7. Picture: QLD Police
Yet behind the concerned expression of a family member lay a chillingly calculated psychological script designed to deceive everyone.
The Interview Room Anchor: A Cold-Blooded Script Built Around an Infant
The single most disturbing detail that investigators still recall vividly today was the suspect’s deliberate choice to keep the four-month-old baby firmly in his arms throughout his entire initial interview as a “voluntary witness.”
This was no spontaneous act of affection; it was a ruthless strategy to divert major investigative attention away from Jana’s sudden disappearance from Newtown on July 7.
Detective Acting Inspector Brian Collins of the Darling Downs District, who conducted the initial questioning and tracked the suspect’s movements from the start, offered a blunt assessment of that initial interaction:
“He obviously had some involvement with the child… it’s unclear how much.
He had the child in custody during his first interview as a potential witness.”
Dharminder Singh, 48, was charged with her m*rd*r and has been remanded in custody
By holding a defenseless four-month-old infant in front of major crime investigators, the suspect constructed a psychological shield.
He presented himself as a protective caretaker, making it easy for onlookers to overlook the possibility that he was the very person who took Jana’s life.
The horrifying truth only surfaced as detectives pieced together every fragment: the infant was not being protected, but rather weaponized as an alibi.
A Staged Scene on West Street and the Calculated Highway Route
The crime did not begin where the car was abandoned—it ended there as a deliberate distraction.
Jana’s white Hyundai Kona—the vehicle she was driving on the afternoon of July 7 while wearing a green and white striped shirt—was intentionally moved and left hazardously near a local park around 6:00 AM on Wednesday.
The car was left sitting unlocked in the middle of the road, practically screaming to the public that a sudden, chaotic abduction or voluntary departure had taken place.
However, that exact artificial scene triggered immediate alarm bells for seasoned detectives, signaling clear external interference.
Singh was arrested on Sunday morning in a Harristown apartment
A former co-worker who interacted closely with the suspect prior to his arrest recalled his reaction when the news first broke, sharing their direct observation with investigators:
“I never saw him lose his temper or display a single hint of aggression at work.
He was always the quiet guy who did his job and left, never letting anyone know what was actually going through his mind.
Looking at how he carried himself every day, nobody could have ever imagined he was capable of plotting such a precise, stone-cold route to transport a body.”
While the unlocked Kona sat near the park to draw public and media attention, Jana’s remains had actually been transported to dense, hẻo hẻo bushland at Redbank Creek—over an hour away from Toowoomba.
The staged crime scene quickly fell apart as forensic teams cross-referenced timeline data and tire movements along Esk Hampton Road and the New England Highway.
Analyzing the suspect’s deceptive staging attempt, Inspector Collins stated directly:
“This is a horrific crime… people in the community would be horrified.
The vehicle’s movements are going to form a significant part of the investigation.”
Ms Armstrong’s car was found parked on the road near a local park. Picture: 7News
The Systemic Blind Spot: A Stark Admission from Authorities
One of the most haunting elements for Jana Armstrong’s family and the entire investigating unit is that the 48-year-old suspect was completely clean within the judicial management system prior to executing the fatal act.
He had no prior criminal record, no domestic violence orders (DVO) had ever been placed on him, and Jana had never once alerted authorities to any threatening behavior.
He existed beside her as an invisible threat, leaving zero marks on police monitoring systems until it was far too late.
His spotless record allowed him to execute a fatal attack without triggering a single early warning mechanism.
Delivering a candid conclusion regarding the stark limitations of preventative legal systems, Inspector Collins admitted directly to the press:
“I don’t think there’s anything police could have done.
It’s good for the community to be aware that domestic and family violence does occur.”
The Unfolding Aftermath of a Cold-Blooded Deception
The four-month-old baby—the unwitting anchor of that calculated alibi on West Street—was safely recovered and placed under the emergency care of his aunt, Faith Isaacs.
Yet the deep scars left on the Harristown community and Jana’s family remain wide open.
As the suspect faced formal charges of domestic violence mu*der at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, detectives continued piecing together dashcam footage provided by local residents along key highways to seal every remaining gap in the timeline.
The suspect attempted to hide behind an innocent infant and a staged car crash, but beneath the cold facts and unyielding investigation, his perfect script completely shattered.