Sentencing delayed in Abbotsford double murder case after judge’s parole ruling

Family and friends of an Abbotsford couple killed in a 2022 home invasion packed a courtroom Monday morning expecting to hear sentences for three men convicted of their murders. Instead, they will wait four more months. Arnold De Jong was 77 and Joanne De Jong was 76. The court previously heard that Arnold died by asphyxiation with his entire head and face wrapped in duct tape, while Joanne was beaten and had her throat slashed.

About a month before the deaths, Abhijeet Singh and Khushveer Toor had been hired to do exterior cleaning at the De Jongs’ Abbotsford home. The court heard that the two men and a third man, Gurkaran Singh, killed the couple in the middle of the night and stole blank cheques, credit cards and other items. All three men, who were in their 20s, were arrested in December 2022. They were found guilty of first-degree murder in May. The offence carries an automatic life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

The three men’s lawyers brought a constitutional challenge seeking to let their clients apply for parole after 15 years instead of 25. On Monday, Justice Brenda Brown ruled that the Criminal Code section prescribing 25 years of parole ineligibility in a case like this infringes Charter of Rights and Freedoms protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Outside court, Crown counsel Dorothy Tsui said Brown had found unconstitutional the section preventing someone who murders more than one person from applying for parole under the faint-hope clause after 15 years. Tsui said the judge announced the result Monday but did not give reasons. Those are expected Nov. 13, after which both sides are scheduled to file written submissions.

Tsui said Brown will then issue a decision, likely sometime in the new year. Final sentencing, subject to that decision, is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2027, pushing back the sentencing of the three men.

The couple’s daughter, Heather Hoogland, said the delay was “like a gut punch.” She said the family went to court expecting final sentencing and learned they would have to wait until Feb. 22. Her sister, Sandra Barthel, said the family was in shock and that the news “just took the wind out of our sails.” She said she could not understand how people could murder two people and then apply for a reduced sentence, calling it mind-boggling.