Double murderer put girl's body in washing machine

Deepak Nagpal in court this morning. File photo / Alan Gibson

A man has admitted murdering a Tauranga mother and her daughter and stashing the 2-year-old girl's body in washing machine.

At the Tauranga District Court this morning, fruit packer Deepak Nagpal pleaded guilty to two charges of murder, after fatally stabbing Ravneet Sangha and her daughter Anna in their home on June 4 this year.

Nagpal stabbed Mrs Sangha more than one hundred times and Anna several times, before putting the toddler's body in a washing machine at the Tauranga house.

Nagpal appeared in the dock with the help of a Punjabi interpreter.

He was remanded in custody to reappear in Rotorua High Court for sentencing on February 18, 2011.

Police discovered Mrs Sangha's body at their Otumoetai home on June 6 - two days after she was killed - following a tip-off from a member of the public.

Anna's body lay undiscovered for 20 more hours, despite an intensive search of the local area by police and search and rescue teams.