3 Surrey men convicted of killing senior Abbotsford couple<\/p>\n
Published 12:38 pm Friday, May 8, 2026<\/p>\n
The three men charged with killing two Abbotsford seniors in their home in 2022 have been convicted of the murders.<\/p>\n
Justice Brenda Brown ruled Friday (May 8) in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford that Khushveer Toor, Gurkaran Singh and Abhijeet Singh \u2013 all of Surrey \u2013 are each guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Arnold and Joanne De Jong.<\/p>\n
A conviction for first-degree murder results in an automatic life sentence, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.<\/p>\n
The judge-only trial for the three men began Jan. 12.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The court heard during the trial that Joanne, 76, was found in her bed with her hands and feet tied by rope and surrounded by a \u201csignificant amount\u201d of blood. A pathologist determined she had died as a result of \u201csharp-force trauma and blunt-force trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arnold, 77, was also found in bed \u2013 in a separate bedroom \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They had done work at the De Jong home in July 2021 and April 2022.<\/p>\n
The Crown had argued that the three men planned out the home invasion and murders and were motivated by \u201cdebt, financial pressure and greed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evidence was presented during the trial that they used Arnold\u2019s stolen credit cars, driver\u2019s licence and cheques to make purchases, pay off debt, withdraw cash and send money to relatives.<\/p>\n
In his closing submissions in March, Crown lawyer William Dorsey said at issue in the case was which of the men \u201ccaused the deaths to the De Jongs and the intent with which they caused them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that all three should share culpability \u201cno matter who inflicted the mortal injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each of the defence lawyers argued that the killings were not premeditated \u2013 a requirement of first-degree murder \u2013 and that there was no evidence to directly link their client to the murders.<\/p>\n
More to come \u2026<\/p>\n
RELATED: 3 Surrey men killed Abbotsford couple for money, says Crown<\/a><\/p>\n