No more delays for three young men facing first-degree murder trial in case of elderly Abbotsford couple killed in their own home
Delays exasperating for family of Arnold and Joanne De Jong murdered in house in rural area of Abbotsford on Mother’s Day 2022
Three men in their 20s from Surrey charged with first-degree murder in the killing of a septuagenarian couple in a quiet, rural Abbotsford home almost four years ago had a third bid to delay the trial rejected in BC Supreme Court recently in October.
Now their trial is set to begin on Monday (Jan. 12, 2026).
Arnold and Joanne De Jong celebrated Mother’s Day in May 2022 with their children and grandchildren at their home on a small acreage on Arcadian Way just west of Highway 11 in Abbotsford.
The bodies of the De Jongs were found in their house by a family member the next day.
Abhijeet Singh and Gurkaran Singh, both aged 22 at the time, along with 20-year-old Kushveer Singh Toor were charged with two counts each of first-degree murder seven months later in December 2022.
The three men have no prior criminal records, and apparently all lived together in a house in Surrey when the murders took place. Homicide investigators said at the time that one of the men was known to the family, but it’s unclear how.
Several publication bans are in place on the file protecting witnesses and evidence. The three are being tried together, but there is a ban in place in case one or more of them sever their file off to be tried separately. That would mean even after the trial of one of them, details could not be reported until all matters are settled.
The men remained in custody up until their first appearance on Dec. 16, 2022, and have been in custody since then, more than three years for which even if they were sentenced today, they would received four-and-a-half years credit for time served.
At the latest appearance on Wednesday (Jan. 7, 2025), a brief case management conference was held with the judge and three lawyers for the three men to address the matter of interpreters. There will need to be three interpreters in the court, one for each of the Punjabi-speaking men, a situation that prompted Justice Brenda Brown to question the practical logistics of having at least nine people on the defence side of the courtroom. The physical set-up of the courtroom with three accused each set up each with an interpreter whispering the proceedings into their ears could be daunting.
Justice Brown simply told the lawyers Wednesday she would leave that with them to think about.
Delay after delay
The case has been beset by delays, something that’s frustrating to the family, but publication bans mean they are not allowed to comment on the record.
The three men first chose a trial by judge and jury before switching to judge alone, a decision that delayed a trial the first time.
A second trial was then scheduled to start May 27, 2024, but the Singhs applied for a delay, which was granted on Sept. 21, 2023. Toor did not apply for the delay and his case was severed from the Singhs. He was later denied to switch back to a judge and jury trial, he fired his lawyer, which resulted in another delay.
A hearing was held on Oct. 1, 2025, in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford to adjourn the trial dates in January 2026 again, because one lawyer, Simon Buck, is embroiled in the long and complicated Cody Haevischer Surrey Six gang murder trial, and another lawyer Jonathan Desbarats has a family emergency.
Back in court on Oct. 17, 2025, Justice Brown wasn’t having it.
“I’m not persuaded this matter should be adjourned,” Justice Brown said, pointing to three years of delays pushing the case up and past the limit proscribed in Jordan.
The Jordan framework is the legal teeth given to the mushy Charter section 11(b) right to justice within a reasonable time. In Supreme court, that ceiling is 30 months from charge approval to completion of a case, but only when the delay is no attributable to defence, a crucial factor in this trial.
Justice Brown pointed out that Jordan is not simply for the benefit of the accused, but also for the family and the public seeing the administration of justice done in a timely fashion. She cited the Supreme Court of Canada case of R. v. Jacobs, which addresses the importance of respect for representation by counsel in criminal proceedings. In part, Jacobs says that courts should be cautious about forcing proceedings forward when counsel is absent or sidelined, but the decision also does not mean delays are always justified just because a lawyer is unavailable, and it does not excuse tactical gamesmanship by defence.
Buck was forced to agree to the trial starting on time by saying he would have an associate attend the first few days.
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Paul J. Henderson
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