Orphaned Indian-American student found dead

An Indian-American youth, who found his parents shot to death in their home seven years ago, has himself been found dead in Philadelphia, according to media reports.

The body of 20-year-old Pulkit Singh, a student at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, was discovered on January 12 in his off-campus room, Newsday website reported.

The cause of death is being investigated by Philadelphia Health Department and campus police.

Criminality has not been suspected but a health department official told The Daily Pennsylvanian, a college newspaper, that the cause of death might not be determined for months.

Grieving over the death of Singh, his uncle Joginder Singh said: "He was the star of our family, and he had a brain that could think at least 10 or 12 years ahead of his time."

In January 2007, brothers Pulkit and Ankur Singh, then 13 and 12, returned home from school to find their parents, Jaspal (46) and Geeta (38), shot to death in the New York hamlet of Syosset in Nassau County.

In 2011, Singh told Newsday that he was haunted by the discovery of his slain parents and by the fact that the killer was still on the loose.

"I don't feel like we're ever going to find out who did it," he said. "Knowing what happened would help us bring justice to our family and peace to our family."

Police said at the time they believed the parents, who immigrated to the US from India, had been targeted. Nassau County police were unable to comment on the status of their case.

Singh and his younger brother have lived with their uncle since their parents' deaths.His body was cremated at the Nassau Suffolk Crematory in Lake Ronkonkoma, according to reports.