WARNING: Details in this story are disturbing. Discretion is advised.
The daughters of a couple murdered in their Abbotsford, B.C., home in 2022 say the federal government has failed them.
“I’m sure our parents begged for mercy and were not shown that, and yet the irony of a fateful clause in this case, in which they can get released from jail, possibly after 15 years, just does not seem just to us,” daughter Sandra Barthel said.
“It’s very ironic, even Canada has such a problem with people coming in and committing crimes. It’s all over the news right now, and we’re basically, by allowing this to happen, or even considering this to happen, you’re just basically giving a free ticket to people to come in and commit crimes and spend their 15 years and be eligible for parole, so it just, it seems like there’s no justice.”
In May, three men were found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of 77-year-old Arnold De Jong and 76-year-old Joanne De Jong.
The court earlier heard that Arnold died by asphyxiation, with his entire head and face wrapped in duct tape, while Joanne was bludgeoned and had her throat slashed.
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The three men, including Gurkaran Singh, all in their 20s, were arrested in December 2022, after the De Jongs’ bodies were found in their Abbotsford home that May.
Prosecutors say the suspects had done cleaning work there before the home invasion, and that the men killed the couple before stealing cheques, credit cards and a power washer.
During the trial, the court heard how two of the three men were in Canada on international student visas and at least one of them never attended one class.
“Had they followed the policies and regulations of Immigration Canada with the student visas, and they were not following that, and going to school, that they should have been deported, and they wouldn’t have been here,” daughter Heather Hoogland said.
“They would have been kicked out of Canada. They would not have been here. The crimes wouldn’t have been committed. My parents would still be here.”
Mohkam Singh Malik, Surrey’s Livability, Social Equity, and Public Safety Committee member, said action could have been taken.
“The government identified this was an issue, but they didn’t act on it, and they haven’t been acting fast enough on it, and it’s the same outrage that I know many communities in Surrey feel when we’re dealing with this extortion crisis,” he said.
The trio was convicted of first-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Toor’s lawyers have applied for a constitutional challenge, which can happen when there are multiple murder victims.
It’s expected counsel for the other two will join the challenge.
That hearing is set for the first week of September, further delaying sentencing.
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