Photo: Castanet

Butch Bagabuyo leaves the Kamloops Law Courts on April 14, following Day 1 of his first-degree murder trial.

The bin containing the body of a missing Thompson Rivers University professor was visible to a Mountie when he peered through the back window of a rented cargo van parked in the driveway of a home in Dufferin.

Week 1 of Butch Bagabuyo’s first-degree murder trial wrapped up on Thursday at the Kamloops Law Courts with testimony from two police officers. The 57-year-old lawyer is accused of killing his client, 60-year-old Mohd Abdullah, on March 11, 2022.

According to prosecutors, Bagabuyo and Abdullah worked together in 2016 to hide $774,000 from Abdullah’s ex-wife during his separation. Abdullah, who worked as a computer sciences instructor at TRU, was trying to collect that money in the months leading up to his death.

The Crown has alleged Bagabuyo killed Abdullah after burning through his money, stabbing him to death inside his second-floor law office in the 300-block of Victoria Street and then enlisting the help of an unknowing elderly friend to rent a cargo van and help dispose of the evidence.

Abdullah was reported missing after failing to show up to work at TRU on March 14, 2022. His body was discovered three days later inside a large storage tote in the back of a rented cargo can parked in the driveway of Bagabuyo’s friend.

Mountie describes find

Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Kevin McIntyre said he was directed to attend a home in Dufferin at about 10 p.m. on March 17, 2022, after a body was found inside a rental van.

McIntyre said he and four other police vehicles arrived at the scene about 15 minutes later, and he immediately approached the Budget van on the driveway.

“I could see through the back windows and I could see there was a tarp inside with a bin,” he said.

“I opened the back doors to the van, and inside is where I found a tarp and a dark bin strapped down with ratchet straps front and back.”

McIntyre said he loosened one of the straps and pulled back the lid far enough to squeeze in a flashlight.

“I noticed immediately there was a body inside,” he said.

“The body was laying on its back and I could see the legs were tucked in toward the chest, and the legs were crossed at the ankles. The body was clothed."

McIntyre said he didn’t spend long looking in the bin.

“My only focus was on determining whether or not there was a person in this vehicle who needed medical attention,” he said.

“As soon as I determined that was not the case, I closed the bin and locked the van and left it to the investigative team to see how they wanted to deal with it.”

Back next week

The other Mountie on the stand on Thursday was RCMP Cpl. David Marshall, who was walking the court through video surveillance footage taken from dozens of Kamloops addresses.

The videos show the movements of the white rental van and Bagabuyo’s black Honda Pilot SUV between March 15, 2022, and March 17, 2022.

At one point, the vehicles can be seen on the video parking tail to tail near a park a few blocks from Bagabuyo’s house.

Marshall is expected to resume his testimony when the trial picks back up on Tuesday following the Easter long weekend.

The trial is slated to run in Kamloops for two more weeks before shifting to the Vancouver Law Courts on May 5.