Joan and Arnold de Jong in 2022
Three men of Indian descent have been found guilty in Canada of first-degree murder in the killing of an elderly couple inside their home in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It’s been nearly four years since the crime occurred, CBC News reports.British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown on Friday ruled that Gurkaran Singh, Abhijit Singh and Khushvir Toor are all guilty in the deaths of Arnold and Joan de Jong, who were found dead in their Abbotsford home on May 9, 2022.The judge agreed with prosecutors that the murders were planned in advance and carried out in exchange for money.The courtroom was packed with relatives and friends of the DeYoung family.Arnold, 77, and 76-year-old Joan DeYoung were found dead in separate bedrooms of their home on Arcadian Road in East Abbotsford.
Court proceedings revealed disturbing details about the killings.Joan was found tied to her bed with blood surrounding her body. The coroner concluded that she died from stab wounds to the neck and severe head injuries, believed to have been caused by a screwdriver and a hammer.Arnold was found in another bedroom with his hands and feet bound. His head and face were tightly wrapped with duct tape. The court heard that he died as a result of asphyxia caused by suffocation.
The three accused were known to the couple before the murder. Abhijit Singh owned a cleaning company and the other two men worked with him. The company had carried out work at De Jong’s residence on several occasions prior to the murder.The trio planned to break into a house to rob the couple and then kill them. The men later used credit cards, checks and ID cards stolen from the victims to make purchases, withdraw money and pay off debts.DNA evidence also linked the three men to the crime. Investigators found DNA in the home, a rope used to tie Arnold DeYoung, and a metal baseball bat recovered from the suspects’ car.Abhijit Singh also did some internet searches after the news of the death became public. The inspections were “exceptionally damning”, including inquiries into how killers are punished in Canada.Defense lawyers argued throughout the trial that the killings were not planned, and said the incident was a robbery that got out of control.
They claimed that there was no direct evidence to prove that their clients intended to kill the couple.Judge Brown rejected this argument.The judge said the defendants knew the De Jong family could recognize them because they had worked in the house before, which is why the couple did not survive.Family members expressed relief after the ruling, but said the pain of losing their parents was still overwhelming.“[It] “I felt like my heart was going to come out of my chest,” his daughter, Sandra Barthel, said after hearing the verdict.“I think there was joy in that, knowing that the judge saw it for what it was and that she was able to act on it,” she added.Another daughter, Kimberly Coleman, said: “They were people who could never be replaced. They had so many things special to us that we miss every day.”Gurkaran Singh, Abhijit Singh and Khushveer Toor are scheduled to be sentenced on May 28. Under Canadian law, a conviction for first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
