A Merrillville man was sentenced to 60 years in prison Wednesday for beating a Winfield nurse to death.
A jury convicted Raju Rawal, 67, last month of murdering Haley Losinski, 36, on Feb. 23, 2023. He would likely die in prison.
He said he was innocent and would appeal.
During the sentencing hearing, her family described Losinski as a dedicated intensive care nurse at Methodist Hospital and a mother who struggled with alcoholism near the end of her life.
It was “horrible,” said his mother Kathy Losinski, who discovered his body a few days later.
“I miss her so much,” she said, adding that she had the “biggest heart.”
She told Judge Natalie Bokota she wanted a sentence without the possibility of parole. Bokota stressed that the court had not decided on conditional release.
“You took our only daughter,” she told Rawal, adding that the death was “senseless.”
Lance Losinski, his brother, told the court that Rawal had “exploited” his alcoholism.
Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar asked for 60 years.
Rawal admitted he had a sexual relationship with Losinski, saying they were good friends.
Balcazar said her family tried to ease her addiction, but Rawal effectively fed her. He had access to Losinski’s house in Winfield and used it to “end his life,” he said.
The prosecutor said the next day, Rawal was working at the Marathon gas station in Winfield when he saw Losinski’s father. Rawal told him to go see his daughter because she was not well. Rawal later denied the timing of the exchange.
Defense attorney Kevin Milner spoke briefly, asking for 45 years.
Rawal denied any guilt in court.
He said he was “the most innocent person in this case” and that he “never laid a hand” on Losinski. She was “not a child” and consumed alcohol on her own, he said. Rawal said he was “ready to answer” any questions from witnesses or anyone else.
“Now is not the time to ask questions,” Bokota told him.
It was clear that Losinski was a “compromised alcoholic” and Rawal “took advantage of (his) vulnerability,” Bokota said. He was “predatory”, “dishonest” and “manipulative”.
When she died, Losinski was so drunk she couldn’t defend herself, the judge said.
After the hearing, Lance Losinski said it was a “relief” that his criminal case was over. The family filed a civil suit against Rawal. His sister was “very passionate” about her nursing career and about bodybuilding, a hobby, he said.
Authorities said Rawal was the last person to see Losinski alive.
In December 2022, she had a relationship with another man, Harminder Singh-Heera, 24, while Rawal went to India for a month, who worked at the same gas station and was the brother-in-law of the owner, according to trial testimony.
Singh-Heera was brought in to testify briefly at the trial where he denied killing her, but mostly pleaded the 5th. Police ruled him out as a suspect because his DNA was not found at the scene and his cellphone records showed he was not near her home. During the investigation, detectives found child pornography on his phone when he handed it over to cops. This criminal case is ongoing.
Winfield Police responded at 5:40 p.m. on February 27, 2023, to the 11200 block of Pike Place.
The victim was found without underwear and his pants pulled down to his ankles. She wore a “distinctive gold bracelet.” There appeared to be blood on the bed and the master bathroom was a ‘mess’ with the shower rod and curtain ripped off the wall.
The mother told police she last saw her daughter when she dropped her off at home around 10:30 p.m. on February 20.
The coroner’s office noticed that Losinski’s body had red marks around his neck. An autopsy showed she died from blunt force trauma with “multiple blows” to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.
mcolias@post-trib.com
