The three men accused of killing two Abbotsford seniors in their home in 2022 will find out their fate on May 8.
Justice Brenda Brown is scheduled to give her verdict that day in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford for 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. Crown’s closing submissions were presented last Friday (March 6), while the three defence lawyers gave their closing arguments on Monday and Tuesday (March 9 and 10).
A guilty verdict for first-degree murder results in an automatic life sentence, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
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 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 court heard that 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.
The Crown argued that the three men planned out the home invasion and murders and were motivated by “debt, financial pressure and greed.”
Evidence was presented during the trial that they used Arnold’s stolen credit cars, driver’s licence and cheques to make purchases, pay off debt, withdraw cash and send money to relatives.
In his closing submissions, Crown lawyer William Dorsey said at issue in the case is which of the men “caused the deaths to the De Jongs and the intent with which they caused them.”
But he argued that all three should share culpability “no matter who inflicted the mortal injuries.”
Each of the defence lawyers argued that the killings were not premeditated – a requirement of first-degree murder – and that there was no evidence to directly link their client to the murders.
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