One of three men charged with the 2022 murder of a senior Abbotsford couple has fired his lawyer, further delaying his trial.
BC Prosecution Service spokesperson Damienne Darby told The Abbotsford News that Khushveer Toor discharged his lawyer on April 30.
Toor鈥檚 trial was slated to begin on May 20 on two charges of first-degree murder related to the killings of Arnold and Joanne De Jong. A new date has not yet been set.
Arnold, 77, and Joanne, 76, were found dead on the morning of May 9, 2022 in their home in the 33600 block of Arcadian Way, a rural road in east Abbotsford.
Toor鈥檚 co-accused, Gurkaran Singh and Abhijeet Singh 鈥� also each charged with two counts of first-degree murder 鈥� are scheduled to start their eight-week trial on Jan. 12, 2026.
The dates are to be confirmed at a pre-trial conference on Nov. 18, Darby said.
All three men were initially set to go on trial together on May 27, but the two Singhs applied in January to have their trial adjourned due to their lawyers being involved in another matter that went on longer than expected.
Toor did not have the same issues with his lawyer鈥檚 schedule, and his trial was severed from the other two.
All three men 鈥� who remain in custody 鈥� initially elected to be tried by judge and jury, but the Crown agreed to their re-election for a judge-alone trial.
Toor then applied to return to a judge-and-jury trial, which the Crown opposed. Darby said Toor鈥檚 application was dismissed on April 17.
Police announced on Dec. 16, 2022 that charges had been laid against all three men. At the time, investigators said one of the three men knew the De Jongs, although the circumstances were not clear.
The couple鈥檚 cause of death has not been released.
