The Associated Press, April 18, 1999

Dirty Look Gets Daughter Killed

KENT, Wash. (AP) -- A man who shot his daughter seven times last year after she gave him a dirty look was convicted of first-degree murder.

A King County Superior Court jury on Friday convicted Harminder Singh Virk, 54, of killing his 18-year-old daughter, Ranjit, on May 13.

Virk faces a minimum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

During his trial, Virk testified he became angry when he saw his daughter sleeping at the kitchen table instead of studying for her driver's license test. When he roused her, the woman looked at him and ``curled her lip,'' he said.

Virk testified he retrieved a handgun in a rage, trying to scare his daughter. He said he began shooting after she once again made a face at him.

Virk shot her body five times, then reloaded to fire two shots into her head. He later turned himself in at a nearby police station.

Prosecutors portrayed Virk as devout Sikh who holds tightly to the traditions of his native India. They argued that he killed his daughter because she wanted to break from his strict rules.

Virk's attorneys said a severe depression left him too mentally impaired to consider his actions.