Disturbing video played in a Canadian court shows how two men convicted of murdering an elderly couple in British Columbia documented their actions before and after the killing, including filming themselves on the victim’s roof and posting videos with the murder weapon and music playing in the background.Nearly a month ago, three Indian-American men were found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Arnold and Joanne DeJong. New court evidence sheds further light on a case that has shocked Canada.Global News reported that a video played during the trial showed Abhijit Singh and Khushwar Toll filming themselves on the roof of DeJong’s home about a month before the murder. Toor also posted a TikTok video of him putting one of the murder weapons, a metal baseball bat, into a car.In May, Gurkaran Singh, Abhijeet Singh and Khushveer Toor were charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the Abbotsford couple. Prosecutors successfully argued that the killings were carefully planned and carried out for financial gain.The victims were Arnold De Jong, 77, and Joanne De Jong, 76, who were found brutally murdered in their home on Arcadian Way in east Abbotsford on May 9, 2022.There are several gruesome details about the attack. Joanne was found tied to the bed and covered in blood. A pathologist concluded she died from stab wounds to the neck and blunt force trauma to the head, believed to have been caused by a screwdriver and a hammer. Arnold was found in a separate bedroom with his hands and feet bound. His head and face were tightly wrapped with tape. He was suffocated to death.The three men, all in their 20s, were arrested in December 2022. They are no strangers to their victims. Abhijit Singh runs a cleaning company and Gurkaran Singh and Tul work for him. Before the murders, the company visited the DeJongs’ home several times to perform cleaning work. The trio planned a home invasion and then killed the elderly couple. After the murders, they stole checks, credit cards, identifying information and other items. The men later used the stolen items to make purchases, withdraw money and pay off debts.Forensic evidence later linked the three men to the crime. DNA was found inside the home, on the rope used to restrain Arnold DeJong and on a metal baseball bat recovered from the suspect’s car. Additionally, Abhijeet Singh was searched on the internet after news of the killing came to light. The searches were “unusually severe” because they included questions about how Canada punishes murderers.Defense lawyers said the incident was a robbery that got out of hand and insisted there was no direct evidence their client intended to kill the couple. The court rejected this claim, saying the murder was pre-planned. The judge concluded that the men knew the de Jongs could identify them because they had previously worked at the house, which was why the couple were not alive.The verdict brings some relief to the victims’ families, but the pain of losing a parent remains intense.“[It] It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest,” daughter Sandra Battle said after hearing the guilty verdict.Kimberley Coleman, another daughter, said: “They are people who can never be replaced…There was so much about them that was very special to us and we miss it every day.”The case is back in court after Cushville Toole’s attorneys filed a constitutional challenge to parole eligibility rules in a case involving multiple murder victims. Lawyers for the two other convicted men are also expected to join the challenge.Under Canadian law, first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years. However, new challenges could further delay the sentencing process, which is currently scheduled to continue in September.The prospect of additional court action infuriated the de Jong family.“Our parents were tortured, they were murdered,” Sandra Bartel told Global News. She said the killer treated the murder weapon like a “trophy” or “a piece of gold.”She added: “I’m sure our parents begged for mercy but we didn’t see that, yet the irony is that in this case they might be out of prison in 15 years and that provision of faint hope doesn’t seem to be exclusive to us.”“It’s like opening a can of worms for anyone who comes to Canada that if they commit a crime, they can get away with it,” said her sister, Heather Hoogland.
