A judge has ruled that a controversial video of two of the three men convicted in the murders of Abbotsford, B.C., seniors Arnold and Joanne De Jong can’t be broadcast. The victim’s family is infuriated by the video and wants the public to see it. “When we saw it, it was shocking and it was surprising, because it made it look like they took pride in what happened,” said Sandra Barthel, one of the De Jongs’ daughters. Kushveer Toor, Abhijeet Singh and Gurkaran Singh were all convicted of the 2022 first-degree murders of the De Jongs. The 46-second video in question shows Toor and Gurkaran Singh in a vehicle. Singh is holding a bat. A similar-looking bat, recovered from a search of the defendants’ vehicles, still had the DNA of Joanne De Jong on it when it was seized by police more than six months after the killings. “I recall seeing (Gurkaran Singh ) holding up the bat, taking a selfie video, I believe, of him holding it and smiling as they were driving down the street,” said Barthel. The prosecution called it the “smile of a murderer” during closing arguments. “I think those four words encapture that video completely,” said Barthel. CTV News and another media outlet sought unlimited access to the video, based on the open-court principle, but the judge rejected the argument. “The video connected to the commentary is inflammatory,” said Donna Turko, Toor’s defense lawyer. She fought against the release, saying the video was neither informative nor educational. “The judge’s decision is basically to protect the integrity of the court from that commentary associated with that video,” said Turko outside the courthouse. She also argued that there’s no way to control how information is “weaponized” once online. “I think the public knows how people distort and manipulate things on the internet,” she told CTV News. But the De Jongs’ daughters are concerned about the decision and believe the public has the right to see the video. “The fact that it’s not going to be released, it’s infuriating that it won’t be able to be seen by the public,” said Heather Hoogland, another of the De Jongs’ daughters. The three men convicted in the murders have filed constitutional challenges, seeking consideration for early parole under the so-called faint hope clause. “These are people who are asking to be released early,’ said Barthel, adding, “I just think that’s wrong and I think the whole world should see this video.” Meanwhile, the family said it was important that they were in court Wednesday. “Our parents were so important to us, and it wouldn’t feel right in our hearts if we weren’t here,” said the victims’ daughter, Kimberley Coleman. She said everything about the court case has hit the family to its very core.
