THE MOMENT SHE READ THE TEXT, HER HEART SANK 💥 JANA ARMSTRONG’S SISTER REVEALS THE MESSAGE THAT DIDN’T SOUND LIKE JANA—AND THE CHILLING DETAILS THAT ONLY MADE SENSE AFTER HER DE-ATH
The devastated sister of murdered Queensland mother Jana Armstrong believes the final text she received from her was sent by someone else.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Mail one week after 30-year-old Jana’s body was found in remote bushland near Toowoomba, her sister Faith Isaacs revealed key new details about the events leading up to her death.
Faith, 26, sent an unremarkable text to her older sister on Tuesday, July 7 – just hours after they had met up for brunch.
‘We live pretty close to each other and I sent her a text asking if she’d seen the fire in the area,’ Faith said.
‘I received a text back that said, “Going to Brisbane…”. I said to my husband, “That’s weird.”
‘She doesn’t have any friends in Brisbane, and she completely ignored my question [about the fire]. That wasn’t like her.’
Faith now believes her sister did not send that text.
The next day, Jana – mother to four-month-old son Deshal – would be declared missing, after police found her white Hyundai Kona SUV abandoned near her Gordon Street home early Wednesday morning.
New mum Jana Armstrong was found dead on Saturday evening, after missing for four days
Sister Faith (right) believes the final text she received from Jana was sent by someone else
Faith is now preparing to raise Deshal as her own, weeks after losing her own child tragically
Given it was parked strangely, left unlocked, with a child’s seat in the back, concerned police called her sister Faith – and that’s when panic set in.
Police then found the support worker’s former partner, 48-year-old maxi-taxi driver Dharminder Singh, at her home with the baby they shared.
The on-again-off-again couple had welcomed a son together, despite him being married to another woman with two other children.
By Saturday evening, Jana’s remains were found by pig hunters in bushland down an embankment from Esk Hampton Road, an hour north of Toowoomba in south-east Queensland.
Police allege she had been strangled and thrown down a steep cliff. Singh was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He is charged with domestic violence murder and was remanded in custody after a brief appearance in the Toowoomba Magistrates’ Court.
His lawyer said the accused is ‘distressed’ and asserts his innocence.
Baby Deshal is now in the custody of Faith and her husband Michael.
Jana’s ex-partner Dharminder Singh, 48, has been charged with domestic violence murder
Singh was married to another Toowoomba woman and shared two children with her
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EXCLUSIVE
‘Everything changed’: Wife of taxi driver accused of murdering Jana Armstrong reveals family torment
Faith shared a heart-wrenching update about the child during her interview with the Mail, and revealed never-before-heard details about Jana’s relationship with the man police allege killed her.
‘Deshal is such a big mummy’s boy. Everyone who knew Jana and baby knew that when someone else was holding him, he would always look for her. And you can tell he misses his mum,’ she said.
‘Jana and I sound quite similar. So when Michael is holding him and I’m talking, sometimes he’ll turn quickly to see if it’s Jana… but it’s just auntie.’
As Faith spoke to the Mail on Friday morning, her young son Thiago could be heard sweetly trying to give sleeping Deshal a dummy.
In May, Faith welcomed a baby daughter, Lehara, who tragically died following complications during her birth.
She confirmed that her sister had been breastfeeding Deshal, who is now adjusting to being bottle-fed.
‘It has crossed my mind that if [bottle-feeding] gave us too much trouble that I could try and bring my milk back for him because it’s only been seven weeks since I lost my daughter,’ she said.
‘That is a possibility that I could still definitely do, but he’s actually settled quite well with the formula feeding.’
Since Jana’s disappearance, Faith has juggled the heartbreaking task of searching for her sister, caring for her infant nephew and fielding a flood of media requests.
‘I’m just trying to put one foot in front of the other… I don’t even know how I’m doing this,’ Faith admitted.
Faith and her husband Michael recently lost their newborn daughter, Lehara, after birth
Little Deshal has been described as a ‘Mummy’s boy’ who still looks around the room for her
The young mother stared down her sister’s accused killer in court on Monday – just over 24 hours after police told her Jana was dead – while clutching Singh’s son to her chest.
She admitted that with hindsight, there were signs something wasn’t right with her older sister in the days before she died.
After meeting with her for brunch on July 7, Michael told his wife that he felt his sister-in-law wasn’t quite herself.
‘After we left the cafe Michael said she was looking at us, and she had a funny look on her face. I didn’t really take too much notice at the time,’ she said.
Singh faced Toowoomba Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was remanded in custody
Police swooped on Singh in a Toowoomba apartment just hours after finding her body
Faith later went to the movies, and ultimately ignored what she said was a nagging feeling to drive past her sister’s Newtown home afterward to check she was alright.
‘I decided not to, because if Jana had seen us, she would have gotten cranky that we were spying or whatever. I regret that so much. Now I’m like, “Why didn’t we just drive down her street?”‘ Faith said.
‘Usually Jana and I tell each other everything. But now we know she was hiding a bit from us over the past month, and I think that was because she knew [Michael and I] were going through a lot already, losing our baby, so she didn’t want to add any extra pressure or stress.’
Faith believes that Jana was trying to protect her grieving sister and brother-in-law from the fact that Singh had recently re-entered her life, after she had ended their on-off relationship before Deshal was born.
‘Since Jana was heavily pregnant, she had nothing to do with him – no contact. She knew she had to put the baby first,’ Faith said.
But in recent weeks, they had reconnected after about six months apart – with Faith revealing Singh had discovered Jana was in the early stages of seeing someone new.
Singh had recently re-entered Jana’s life after she ended their relationship while pregnant
Police launched a frantic search, combing Toowoomba for the missing mum on Wednesday
But the search came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday, when her body was found in the bush
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail revealed Singh had been seeing Jana for some time, despite the fact he already had a wife and two children, who also lived in Toowoomba.
Faith said he would insist he was leaving his wife for Jana, but then go back to his family.
‘I would describe [Jana and Singh] as on and off. They were never really in a relationship,’ she said.
‘It initially started off like, “Me and my wife aren’t together.” Then it was, “I’ll leave my wife for you.” I suppose that’s how it always starts, isn’t it?
‘The longest he was ever at Jana’s was no more than two weeks at a time. They would have an argument and then he would go back to his wife. So they never really lived together.’
Faith also shed new light on how her sister had become involved with Singh.
She confirmed the Daily Mail’s earlier reporting that she had met him while using his maxi-taxi service for her wheelchair-bound support-care clients.
‘Dharm looked very different four years ago,’ she said, referring to his dishevelled appearance when a 7News team approached him after an unrelated court appearance last week.
‘Jana was married. She was then divorced. Then she lost our mum and dad. I think she wanted to be loved, and she was an easy target,’ Faith said.
She said ‘all the bloody taxi drivers’ are charming when it comes to support care workers who have ‘plenty of clients needing taxis’.
‘They have to woo you and win you over. They’re all very money-driven. I suppose [Singh] knew how to be charming. I have used him [as a driver], and the very first time I used him, he gave me a present, which I thought was f***ing weird.’
Jana’s sister confirmed she had met Singh as a patron of his maxi-taxi through work
Given her child died so recently, Faith admitted that, in a ‘bizarre’ way, suddenly caring for Deshal feels meant to be.
‘When I lost my daughter, I remember saying to my husband that my motherly instincts just want to hold a baby, but I just don’t have a baby here,’ she said.
The couple had even started to discuss fostering because they ‘felt the need to care’ for an infant, given their son Thiago was a toddler and ‘a bit more independent now’.
‘Now, I’ve got Jana’s baby in my arms and I’m taking care of him. It doesn’t make it any easier, losing our baby girl, but it’s been a bloody good distraction,’ she said.
She said suddenly caring for her infant nephew had been hard to adjust to, but that they were doing their best.
‘I suppose we already had a nursery set up, but we weren’t prepared for a four-month-old boy and we weren’t prepared for a formula-fed baby,’ she said.
When Jana’s Hyundai Kona was found abandoned on Wednesday, panic set in
A community memorial will be held in Jana’s honour in Toowoomba on Friday
Faith confirmed she was exploring her legal options – including the possibility of formal adoption – in terms of firming up her guardianship of Deshal.
She confirmed that Jana had not left instructions about her child in the event of her death.
‘I don’t want, in so many years’ time, for there to be someone pop up and try to take him off us,’ she said.
She is currently waiting for her sister’s body to be returned to the family so they can proceed with funeral arrangements.
‘Jana was our rock. Even just organising this funeral… she was the one to run the show and take charge. So I was always standing next to her and agreeing with everything she said. Now, there’s no one pointing me in the right direction,’ she said.
Jana will be buried at the cemetery in Millmerran, 90km south-west of Toowoomba, alongside her late parents, Ronald and Robyn.
A community memorial will be held on Friday.
Faith’s heart went out to the group of pig hunters who happened across her sister’s body last Saturday.
‘We haven’t heard from them – they have my auntie’s number. I’m assuming they’re quite shaken up, as anyone would be,’ she said.
‘I’m so grateful they found her because it’s quite literally a needle in a haystack.’
She said the location of Jana’s remains ‘caught me off-guard’ because the family, police and SES volunteers had been searching much closer to the city.
‘I can’t put into words how thankful I am for the local community and everyone who has shown up. The community has wrapped their arms around us and shown love, support and generosity. It is overwhelming,’ she said.
A GoFundMe has been launched to raise $75,000 to help the Isaacs care for Deshal and cover Jana’s funeral expenses. Donations can be made here.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15984035/jana-armstrong-murdered-queensland-mum-final-text-message-faith-isaacs-dharminder-singh-domestic-violence-murder-toowoomba-case-weeks-revelations.html
