Pregnant woman arraigned in Yuba City killing

A pregnant Yuba City woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing her mother-in-law last week.

Wearing bright orange jail clothes, Baljinder Kaur made her first appearance in Sutter County Superior Court by video monitor.

Kaur, who is about six months pregnant, was arrested Friday in connection with the Oct. 24 death of her 68-year-old mother-in-law, Baljit Kaur. The woman's body was discovered around noon inside her home in the 1900 block of Anthony Way in south Yuba City.

Speaking through a Punjabi interpreter over a telephone, Kaur told Judge H. Ted Hansen she understood the nature of the first-degree murder charge.

If convicted, the 37-year-old woman faces 25 years to life in prison.

No one from Kaur's family attended Tuesday's proceedings.

The judge entered the not guilty plea on Kaur's behalf and appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent her. Hansen set a pretrial hearing for Nov. 7 and a preliminary hearing for Nov. 9.

Kaur remains in custody without bail at the Sutter County Jail. A bail review hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Jana McClung, assistant Sutter County district attorney, asked the judge to deny bail at least until Friday's hearing to give prosecutors time to speak with the victim's family.

"We just received the reports (Tuesday)," McClung said, "and didn't have all the contact information for the family we needed."

Authorities have declined to comment on possible motives or say what type of weapon they believed was used in the killing. An autopsy determined Baljit Kaur died from blunt force trauma to her head, authorities said.