A former Kamloops, B.C., lawyer admits to killing his client, but his defence counsel says it wasn’t planned and that evidence at the trial doesn’t support a first-degree murder conviction.
Rogelio (Butch) Bagabuyo is accused of murdering Mohd Abdullah in 2022.
The B.C. Supreme Court trial has heard that Abdullah hired Bagabuyo in 2016 and they conspired to hide “large sums of money” during Abdullah’s separation from his wife.
Bagabuyo spent more than $780,000 that Abdullah transferred to him over a seven-year period, the trial heard.
The court heard that Bagabuyo had delayed the return of Abdullah’s money for several years, fabricating reasons such as the need to set up shell corporations or concerns about the Canada Revenue Agency.
Bagabuyo’s lawyer Mark Swartz told the judge in his closing arguments Wednesday that a reasonable explanation is that Bagabuyo had confessed to his client on March 11, 2022, that the money was gone and “all hell broke loose” in a struggle that left Abdullah dead.
Swartz said there was no evidence prior to their March 11 meeting that Abdullah was threatening Bagabuyo to get his money back, but it would have been a situation of angst, frustration and anger for Abdullah.
“His life savings are in Mr. Bagabuyo’s hands,” Swartz said.
Swartz said the killing was “unexpected” and Bagabuyo was “left with what to do with this body,” which is evidenced by his movements after the killing, including enlisting the help of an elderly friend to rent a van and find a place to dispose of the body.
He said the pair drove aimlessly around the B.C. Interior on March 16, 2022, “looking for [a] soft spot to dig and dispose of this tote.” When they couldn’t find one — because the ground was still frozen — they planned to meet again on March 18, Swartz said.
“Things are unfolding in the moment and he’s rolling with it,” he said of his client.
Swartz said it is evidence that there is “lack of a concrete plan.”
He also addressed Bugabuyo buying items including a hacksaw on March 13, which the Crown suggested he planned to use to dispose of the body. Swartz said purchasing the items two days after the murder suggests he had not planned the death.
“You’d think if you’re able to think that intricately about some of those minor details … certainly you’d think I’m going to have a body on my hands after this and I’m going to have to deal with it.”
Bagabuyo was arrested on March 18, 2022, the day after the body was discovered inside the tote by his friend’s grandson.
The Crown attorney told the court this week that Bagabuyo methodically planned the murder for more than a week and should be convicted of the most serious charge.
Ann Katrine Saettler told Justice Kathleen Ker that the purchase of a large tote before the murder, in which Abdullah’s body was found, and a “planning note” written by the accused were all evidence of the plot.
Saettler said the note was written by Bagabuyo before the killing, reminding him to bag everything after, not to bring his mobile phone or E-watch, to turn off his GPS and to throw his garbage out, Saettler said.
But Swartz said his client purchased the tote to deal with files at his office and the note was used as a reminder of what to do while disposing of the body — not a plan for murder.
“This is someone who picks up a document [and] starts writing out things in a panic of what to do, not someone who, back on March 1, made a decision and weighed out what needs to occur, what steps to take,” Swartz said.
After the murder, the Crown said Bagabuyo wrapped Abdullah’s body in plastic sheeting, put a garrote around his neck, placed him in the bin and secured it with ratchet straps. He then hauled the bin into his car.
But Swartz said the garrote was “not actually used in any way in the commission of the offence.”
He said there were no ligature marks around Abdullah’s neck and he suggested to the court that it may never have been at the office but could have been used by Bagabuyo as a way to help him manoeuvre the body in the days after Abdullah’s death.
Saettler said Tuesday during her closing submissions that a law office was an “ideal place” to commit a murder, as there are special conditions for police searches of law offices.
But Swartz said the building, which was under restoration after a fire, would have had contractors and others entering the building and “there is no evidence that Mr. Bagabuyo had been given any advance knowledge of” when people would be coming and going.
Swartz also noted that Bagabuyo had “everyone’s building code” as he had set up the alarm system and could have avoided using his own if he had planned the murder.
He said Bagabuyo could have also picked a more isolated area or even his own residence if he had planned the murder.
“It’s all unexpected and he’s dealing with the aftermath,” Swartz told the court Wednesday.
Bagabuyo was initially charged with indignity to human remains on March 18, 2022, then charged more than a year later with first-degree murder. He’s been out on bail since July 12, 2023.
Final arguments are scheduled again for Thursday.
