Auburn woman's death highlights dangers of domestic violence during pregnancy

While Navneet Kaur was pregnant with her son, she hung up sonogram images on the walls of her and her husband's Auburn home, shopped for cute baby clothes and talked about how happy she was to soon welcome her first child.

She was also unknowingly in a phase of life when women are at higher risk of intimate partner violence - homicide at the hands of a partner is among the leading causes of death of pregnant women nationally, according to health researchers.

Kaur was 27 weeks pregnant when she was shot and killed, allegedly by her husband, Charanpreet Singh Walia, during an argument March 13. According to court documents, Walia fired a pistol at Kaur multiple times, then called 911 and admitted to shooting his wife, officers said.

Walia has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the death of his wife and unborn child, according to King County Superior Court documents. He remains in jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

Kaur's death highlights the dangers women may face during pregnancy as partner abuse may show up for the first time or escalate during that time, especially in relationships where a partner has access to weapons, domestic violence experts say. That abuse can take many forms, like withholding funds for medical care, forcing someone to be pregnant or to terminate a pregnancy, or, in the most extreme cases, physical violence ending in death.

There's no single national number for pregnant women killed by their intimate partners, in part because data is tracked differently across states. One National Institutes of Health study that looked at data from 2020 found that women who are pregnant or postpartum had a 35% higher risk of homicide compared to their peers who aren't pregnant or postpartum. About half of homicides of pregnant women or within one year of pregnancy involved intimate-partner violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"(Pregnancy) is often a time when survivors are particularly vulnerable," said Elizabeth Montoya, spokesperson for the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, speaking generally about domestic violence. "And that vulnerability can be exploited."

Walia, 36, and Kaur, 37, married in July, according to King County documents. He was a truck driver and owned two semiautomatic assault rifles, two pistols and a revolver that were registered to him, according to court documents ordering him to surrender the weapons.

He told police he felt disrespected by Kaur after an argument, according to court documents, and retrieved a pistol from his car. He then returned to their home and allegedly fatally shot Kaur.

Walia's trial is scheduled for July.

Loss of control

Pregnancy often brings new stressors and shifts in power dynamics to relationships, domestic violence experts say. The birthing parent may receive newfound attention from loved ones and medical professionals as they prepare for baby's birth.

In a relationship with a stark power imbalance, an abuser may feel like they are losing control, according to Sophie Wyborney-Moldrem, prevention and education specialist with Rural Resources Victim Services, an organization serving Stevens, Ferry and Lincoln counties in northeastern Washington.

"In the past, they were the center of attention and the relationship, and now all of a sudden that is changing," Wyborney-Moldrem said. "The violence that can happen is the reaction and shift to the power dynamic, to maintain control over the survivor."

Wyborney-Moldrem coordinates Safe Beginnings, events focused on domestic violence during pregnancy, how common it is and what it can look like in a relationship. Over two years, about 30 people have attended the Safe Beginnings talks, which also are tailored to the unique aspects that come with living in a rural area. Coordinators emphasize the event is for anyone, regardless of whether their relationship is healthy or not.

As an incentive, attendees receive a free dinner and baby items. They see this as potentially one way to help someone if they want to leave an unhealthy relationship.

"Domestic violence during pregnancy is really complicated because pregnancy and postpartum is so expensive," Wyborney-Moldrem said, "It's the last time in your life you want to be relocating and starting over."

Prevalence is likely underreported

About 6% of women across the United States who recently gave birth said they experienced abuse during their pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though experts say the prevalence is likely underreported. Data is limited for Washington state, but there have been other high-profile incidents involving pregnant women and their intimate partners.

In 2024, a Yakima County man was sentenced to nearly three months in federal prison for choking and assaulting his girlfriend, who was 26 weeks pregnant, during an argument about their finances, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Washington.

The same year, a Gig Harbor nurse practitioner secretly gave his girlfriend an abortion-inducing drug after she told him she might be pregnant, according to Pierce County court records. He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and witness tampering and was sentenced to a year in prison.

The most effective prevention comes from early support and intervention, Montoya said, and accessibility to resources like affordable housing and healthcare. Connection is also a significant aspect in maintaining a lifeline in counteracting isolation.

So many people in our communities can really play a role," Montoya said. "Anyone can maintain that connection, and that increases their safety and the difference between feeling like 'OK, I am alone in this' to 'OK, I do have people who are about me who I can reach out to.'

The need for their work to prevent violence is underscored when they talk to an expecting parent one-on-one, Wyborney-Moldrem said.

"The things people go through during pregnancy and postpartum," she said, "it's more severe than I would have imagined."

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