Three young Indo-Canadian men from Surrey have been arrested and charged in the killing of an elderly couple from Abbotsford but police have provided little details of the killing including what was the motive. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has charged 20-year old Gurkaran Singh, 22-year old Abhijeet Singh and 22-year old Khushveer Toor, all residents of Surrey,  with the murders of Arnold and Joanne De Jong, from May 2022 in Abbotsford.

By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada

 ABBOTSFORD – Three young Indo-Canadian men from Surrey have been arrested and charged in the killing of an elderly couple from Abbotsford but police have provided little details of the killing including what was the motive.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has charged 20-year old Gurkaran Singh, 22-year old Abhijeet Singh and 22-year old Khushveer Toor, all residents of Surrey,  with the murders of Arnold and Joanne De Jong, from May 2022 in Abbotsford.

On May 9 at around 10:26 a.m., Abbotsford Police Department (AbbyPD) responded to a residence in the 33600-block of Arcadian Way at which time two adults were found deceased. 

AbbyPD patrol members confirmed the deaths as being suspicious and IHIT was called in to investigate. The victims were identified as 77-year-old Arnold De Jong and his wife, 76-year-old Joanne De Jong, of Abbotsford. IHIT continue to work closely in partnership with AbbyPD to further the investigation.

On December 16, IHIT investigators, along with members of AbbyPD, arrested the three suspects for the murders of Joanna and Arnold De Jong.

Two charges of first degree murder have been laid against Gurkaran Singh, Abhijeet Singh and Khushveer Toor.

 “Today we are a step closer to finding justice for Mr. and Mrs. De Jong. Their senseless murders shook our community to the core,” says Abbotsford Police Department Chief Serr. “I am grateful for the tireless efforts of IHIT, our AbbyPD Major Crime, Patrol, Forensic Identification and plainclothes teams to secure these charges. I appreciate our community’s support and their trust that we would never rest until those responsible were held accountable”

IHIT spokesman Sgt. Timothy Pierotti told a press conference that one of the men knew the De Jongs, although he wasn’t sure which one nor did he know in what capacity or whether any of the suspects are related to one another.

Pierotti also said he could not speak about any of the circumstances of the killings, including a possible motive, as the case is now before the courts, reported Abby News.

He said all three suspects are Surrey residents and were arrested in Surrey on Friday morning. None have prior criminal records, he said.

Police have not released their cause of death.

The couple owned De Jong Transport, and Arnold travelled almost two million miles over the years in his 1965 Hayes truck transporting produce, berries, flowers and eggs, reported Abby News.

Joanne was a licensed practical nurse at local hospitals before staying home to raise their three daughters.