A 54-year-old Surrey man has pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the August 2008 attack that killed his 47-year-old wife and seriously wounded the couple's 23-year-old daughter.

Harpaljit Sandhu will be sentenced on one count of manslaughter with a weapon for killing his wife Manjit and one count of aggravated assault in the attack that injured his daughter Sabrina.

The surprise plea was made Monday morning at the beginning of what was supposed to be a two-week long jury trial in New Westminster.

Sandhu was originally charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder using a firearm in connection with the shooting of his wife and daughter at the family home in Newton.

Surrey RCMP were called to a house at 14366 72 Ave. to investigate reports of shots fired where they found the two women with gunshot wounds.

Sandhu’s wife was pronounced dead at the scene.

Their daughter survived.

At the time a neighbour said the Sandhu family was renting the upper portion of the home.

The youngest son, 12, was over at their house visiting with her brother one afternoon when he was called by his older sister and told to come home. Shortly after that, the neighbour saw police officers in the back alley, both uniformed and undercover.

She said the family was usually cheerful.

“They were really social with my little brother because they would be at each other’s houses every day,” she said.

The Sandhu family had moved into the house about a year earlier, but were planning on moving back to Penticton.

Harpaljit Sandhu, who also went by the name Paul, was the owner of financially troubled Penticton Luxury Taxi & Limo Services Ltd.

In July 2007 the company licence was suspended for one month for inconsistent vehicle safety and inadequate record keeping.

Manjit Sandhu worked as a housekeeper at Peace Arch Hospital.

dferguson@surreyleader.com