Judge will deliver decision in December in Kamloops lawyer's first-degree murder trial (Kamloops)
A former Kamloops lawyer who admits he stabbed his client to death will learn his fate before Christmas. Lawyers were in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday afternoon in Kamloops to set Dec. 12 for the judge’s decision following Butch Bagabuyo's lengthy first-degree murder trial. Bagabuyo is charged in the death of Mohd Abdullah, 60, who was killed on March 11, 2022. Abdullah was a client of Bagabuyo, a family lawyer, and the two men are alleged to have conspired in 2016 to shield nearly $800,000 from Abdullah’s ex-wife and her family. Prosecutors said Bagabuyo “squandered” that money — Abdullah’s life savings — over a period of years, using it to buy groceries and pay his bills. He is accused of developing a plan to kill Abdullah, then attacking him with a knife after inviting him to a meeting at his Victoria Street law office before hiding his body in a storage tote and enlisting the help of an unknowing elderly friend in a bungled attempt to dispose of the evidence. Bagabuyo admits he stabbed Abdulah to death in his office, but claims it was manslaughter, not murder. Prosecutors argued Bagabuyo methodically planned the slaying for more than a week after he realized he was no longer be able to “fool” Abdullah about the money. Defence lawyer Mark Swartz, meanwhile, described the slaying as “unexpected.” He said the evidence showed Bagabuyo’s actions were “rash and impulsive.” Bagabuyo did not testify in his own defence. Swartz suggested in his closing arguments that Abdullah attacked Bagabuyo after he confessed to having blown through the money. Murder or manslaughter? Between now and Dec. 12, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker will have to decide between first-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence with no parole for at least 25 years, second-degree murder, which comes with a life sentence with no parole for at least 10 years, and manslaughter, which would have no mandatory minimum jail sentence. For a conviction on first-degree murder, prosecutors must prove that Abdullah’s slaying was planned and deliberate. To get to manslaughter, Bagabuyo’s lawyer has to convince Ker that he was acting in the heat of the moment due to sudden provocation. The trial started in April and was split between Kamloops and Vancouver. Ker said she wants the decision to be delivered in Kamloops. The Law Society of B.C. has said Bagabuyo is no longer a practising lawyer and a custodian was appointed to wind up his legal practice in May of 2022. He remains free on bail.
