Particle.news
Download on the App Store
8 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

Three Men Convicted of First-Degree Murder in 2022 Abbotsford Home Invasion

Sentencing is set for May 28 after a judge-alone trial built on forensic and phone evidence.

Arnold and Joanne De Jong are shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Helen Leusink (Mandatory Credit)
Image
Joanne and Arnold De Jong were the victims of a double homicide in Abbotsford on May 9, 2022.
Arnold De Jong and his wife, Joanne, were killed in May 2022. This is a photo of the couple and their three daughters.

Overview

  • Justice Brenda Brown of the B.C. Supreme Court, ruling Friday, found Gurkaran Singh, Abhijeet Singh and Khushveer Toor guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Arnold and Joanne De Jong.
  • The judge said the killings were planned for financial gain and that the men acted together to eliminate the couple as witnesses.
  • Prosecutors linked the trio to the crime through DNA at the scene and on a rope and metal bat, plus phone data showing searches about murder penalties after news of the deaths.
  • The men had worked for a cleaning company that had serviced the De Jongs’ home, and investigators found phone videos taken from the property during earlier jobs.
  • After the break-in, the group stole cheques, credit cards and a power washer, then used the cards and tried to move money, as family packed the courtroom to hear the verdict and awaited sentencing on May 28.