BURST
A softball bat stashed in the trunk of a car, a shoe print on a bloody bedsheet, and a Google search about the penalty for murder — all helped police link three young men to the violent murder of an Abbotsford couple in their own home.
On Friday, a packed courtroom listened as prosecutor William Dorsey explained the evidence that led charges of first-degree murder against Abhijeet Singh, Khushveer Toor and Gurkaran Singh, an international student from India, in the deaths of Arnold De Jong and his wife, Joanne, in May 2022.
Arnold, 77, was found dead in his bed with duct tape wrapped around his nose and mouth. It would later be determined he died of asphyxiation due to smothering. Joanne, 76, was found in her bed surrounded by blood. She died of sharp and blunt force trauma.
As Dorsey delivered his closing arguments, court heard that a day before the killing, Abhijeet Singh — the owner of a Surrey company that had previously cleaned the roof of the couple’s home — purchased rope, wipes and a softball bat from a hardware store. Later that night, the three men left their shared rental unit, presumably bringing the items with them, “prepared to deliver violence.”
Police would later find the bat in the trunk of a car associated with the three men. A swab taken from it would reveal Joanne’s DNA.
Dorsey also laid out evidence showing a shoe print found on a bloody bedsheet in Joanne’s room could have been made by a shoe worn by Khushveer Toor. Fingerprints on a glass patio door were linked to Gurkaran Singh’s left hand. And Google searches by Abhijeet Singh after an article about the killings appeared in the local newspaper included queries about the punishment for murderers in Canada and jail sentences for international students.
After the killings, Dorsey alleged, the men “fled” to Ontario. While they were driving across the country, one of the men provided a link to a newspaper article about the murders with a friend who was going to help them find a place to live.
Dorsey also laid out evidence showing the men tried to pay off debts and send money to family and friends using the De Jong’s Visa cards and cheques they stole from the couple’s home.
They eventually returned to B.C. in June, renting another place together, contributing to the impression that everything “had gone according to plan,” he said.
Outside court, the couple’s three daughters said they continue to struggle to comprehend the loss of their parents.
“I don’t think we can fully understand why this happened. To murder two people over such a small sum of money. It’s incomprehensible,” said Sandra Barthel.
Heather Hoogland said her father would give anyone a chance to work for him.
“He would find jobs for people. He had numerous contacts in the (trucking) industry. If these guys were looking for work, my dad would have found them work,” she said.
Barthel said her mom had been happy with the work the cleaners did at her home and recommended them to her.
“She actually said, ‘Oh, if you need work done at your house, I have their business card somewhere, and I can give it to you.'”
Kimberley Coleman said regardless of the outcome of the trial, their hearts remain in a “million pieces.”
“Nothing can bring our parents back,” she said.