Sentencing delayed for three men convicted of murdering Abbotsford couple

A B.C. judge ruled the 25-year no-parole provision for multiple murders unconstitutional, delaying sentencing to 2027 and shocking the De Jong family.

Abbotsford murder sentencing pushed to 2027 after judge strikes down parole restriction

The sentencing of three men convicted of killing Arnold and Joanne De Jong in Abbotsford has been postponed to February 22, 2027, after a B.C. judge ruled a key provision of the Criminal Code unconstitutional, Vancouver Sun Crime reports.

About 60 people had gathered at the Abbotsford courthouse on Monday for what they expected to be a brief sentencing hearing. Several had taken time off work; some had driven from Vancouver and Seattle. The proceeding ended within minutes.

Justice Brenda Brown ruled that the mandatory sentencing provision for multiple first-degree murders — life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years — violates the section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The decision means the three convicted men may eventually be permitted to apply for early parole under the so-called "faint-hope" clause after serving 15 years.

Gasps and murmuring broke out in the courtroom. A lengthy procedural discussion followed to schedule further arguments and a final sentencing date.

Khushveer Toor, Gurkaran Singh and Abhijeet Singh — all in their 20s — were each found guilty in May 2025 of two counts of first-degree murder. Lawyers for both prosecution and defence will now make submissions on whether the Charter infringement can be justified before the final hearing. Until that process is concluded, it remains unclear whether the men will be allowed to seek early parole.

"Our charter should be protecting us as victims"

Outside court, the De Jong family reacted with shock and anger. Daughter Sandra Barthel questioned how the Charter could offer more protections to the killers than to the victims of the crime, noting that two of the three men are in Canada on student visas.

"This is Canada. How does this happen here?" Barthel said. "Our charter should be protecting us as victims. It should not be protecting criminals. If you murder people, spending 25 years in jail is due justice and due process."

Barthel described the killings as premeditated and cruel. "Our parents are gone. They didn't deserve this. This was premeditated. It was planned. It was cruel. And now they want hope that after 15 years it will just go away and that they can live new lives. That's not fair."

Daughter Heather Hoogland said the family would not stop pressing for justice. "We're going to stand up, and we're going to take it, and we're going to fight. We're going to fight for our parents. That's the way my mom and dad taught us," she said.

The 2022 killings

In May 2022, Arnold De Jong, 77, was found dead in his bed with duct tape wrapped around his nose and mouth. He died of asphyxiation. Joanne De Jong, 76, was found in her bed surrounded by blood; she died of sharp and blunt force trauma.

During the eight-week trial, prosecutor Dorothy Tsui argued the killers were motivated by "debt, financial pressure and greed." Abhijeet Singh had operated a company that cleaned the roofs and gutters of the De Jongs' home. Toor and Gurkaran Singh — an international student who had arrived in Canada less than a month before the murders — lived with Abhijeet Singh and worked for his cleaning company.

Prosecutor William Dorsey showed the court a video he said was recorded by one of the men three months after the killings, in which two of them are seen driving with the bat used in the attack, apparently displaying the weapon. Dorsey's voice cracked as he described how the men bound Joanne in her bed and beat her with the bat, and suggested a screwdriver was used to slash her throat before they killed Arnold in the adjacent room.

Defence lawyers argued the deaths resulted from a robbery that went wrong. Justice Brown rejected that account. "In my view, three persons were needed to participate in the home invasion and murders for them to be carried out in the way that they were," she said.

After the killings, the three men attempted to pay off debts and transfer money to family and friends using the De Jongs' Visa cards and cheques.

What happens next

Both prosecution and defence must now file submissions on whether the Charter breach identified by Justice Brown can be justified under the law. The outcome of that process will determine whether the 25-year parole ineligibility is restored or whether a shorter period applies. A final sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 22, 2027 — nearly a year after the trial began and nine months after the verdicts were returned.

Source: Vancouver Sun Crime