ABBOTSFORD — A defence lawyer for one of three men accused of murdering an Abbotsford, B.C., couple says the crime was “despicable” and “senseless,” but DNA and other circumstantial evidence aren’t enough to prove premeditation of the killings.
The bodies of Arnold and Joanne De Jong were found in their home in May 2022, both bound with rope and Arnold De Jong died by asphyxiation with duct tape covering his face, while Joanne was bludgeoned and her throat was slashed.
Surrey residents Abhijeet Singh, Gurkaran Singh and Khushveer Toor, all in their 20s, are accused of first-degree murder and the trial is near complete with closing submissions by their lawyers this week in B.C. Supreme Court.
Donna Turko, the lawyer for Toor, says her client’s DNA found on a rope used in the crime doesn’t prove he was at the home when the couple was killed, and also doesn’t prove the killings were premeditated.
Turko told Justice Brenda Brown that even though Toor deposited a $5,600 cheque from Joanne De Jong after the couple was killed, evidence showed he received “almost nothing” from those proceeds and was not “desperately in need of money.”
Turko says her client’s DNA found on a bat allegedly used in the murder of Joanne De Jong could have been deposited for “innocent reasons.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
