Three men accused of killing an elderly Abbotsford couple in 2022 should share equal blame “no matter who inflicted the mortal injuries,” a Crown lawyer stated Friday morning (March 6) in court.
William Dorsey was giving his closing submissions in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford during the trial of Khushveer Toor, Gurkaran Singh and Abhijeet Singh of Surrey.
The three men are each accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Arnold and Joanne De Jong. Their trial by judge alone began Jan. 12.
The bodies of the De Jongs were discovered on the morning of May 9, 2022 in their home in the 33600 block of Arcadian Way, a rural road in east Abbotsford. Arnold owned two trucking companies.
The court previously heard that Joanne, 76, was found in her bed with her hands and feet tied by rope and surrounded by a “significant amount” of blood. A pathologist determined she had died as a result of “sharp-force trauma and blunt-force trauma.”
Arnold, 77, was also found in bed – in a separate bedroom – with his hands and feet also bound, and his entire head and face tightly wrapped in duct tape. His cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation due to smothering.
The three accused knew the De Jongs because Abhijeet Singh owned and ran a cleaning company, and the two others worked for him. The trio lived together in Surrey.
They had done work at the De Jong home in July 2021 and April 2022.
Dorsey told the court on Friday that evidence linking the three men to the murders includes videos they shot outside the De Jong home during the April 2022 job.
Dorsey said six videos shot by Toor and Abhijeet captured the “entire scope” of the property, including the large backyard, which was surrounded by trees with no nearby neighbours.
He said this provided the three men with “useful information” that they could use in the planning of the home invasion, including the “ideal point of entry.”
Dorsey said evidence also indicated that both Abhijeet and Toor had large debts, including $2,000 that Abhijeet owed to ICBC and $617 that Toor owed on his cellphone bill.
But Dorsey said the motive for the killings was “not to pay off debts; it was greed.”
He said that on afternoon of May 8, 2022, Abhijeet purchased several items – paid for through his Apple wallet – that were for the purpose of the home invasion. These items included a hammer, rope, a screwdriver, disposable gloves, heavy-duty shop wipes and a softball bat.
Dorsey said cellphone evidence indicated that the three men were in touch that day. The last call to activate a cell tower occurred at 10:35 p.m. in Surrey, and another cell tower was not activated again until 4:17 a.m.
Dorsey said this means that the three men would not have arrived at the De Jong home any earlier than 11:20 p.m. on May 8.
Dorsey said stolen from the home during the home invasion and murders were Arnold De Jong’s driver’s licence, credit cards, cheques and a pressure washer (which was later sold).
He said the three accused immediately began using the stolen items. Toor paid off his $617 cellphone bill at 4:30 a.m. and Abhijeet also made a cellphone payment of $704, using the credit cards.
They opened a fraudulent Remitly account – used to transfer money internationally – in Arnold’s name, using his driver’s licence and credit card, Dorsey said.
He said also on May 9, 2022, Abhijeet bought a new iPhone with Arnold’s credit card, while Toor and Gurkaran deposited cheques off $5,600 and $5,100 into their personal accounts using cheques purportedly signed by Joanne.
Abhijeet also sent $3,000 to his sister to help with her student visa, and $7,000 was sent to his father, Dorsey said.
He said once the three began seeing news articles about the murders, it is believed they fled to Ontario for a period. They reunited in Surrey in June of that year, using $1,500 to pay for their first month’s rent at a new residence.
Dorsey said further evidence collected during the investigation included three fingerprints found on a rear sliding glass door to the De Jong residence that matched Gurkaran’s left hand.
A shoe print found in a blood-soaked sheet was a possible match for shoes worn by Toor, he said.
Dorsey said when the trio were arrested at their Surrey home on Dec. 16, 2022, a baseball bat was found in the trunk of the vehicle on site, and the DNA on it was a match for Joanne.
Dorsey said the three men worked together as a team and each should share full responsibility for the murders.
“The live issues in this case are the identities, or the identity, of those who caused the deaths to the De Jongs and the intent with which they caused them,” he said.
“The Crown’s position is that, based on the entirety of the evidence, the accused acted together as parties to both murders, sharing equal culpability as either co-principals or aiders and abettors, no matter who inflicted the mortal injuries.”
Each of the men is represented by separate lawyers. Defence closing submissions are expected to start on Monday.
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