Photo: Castanet

The Home Depot's Kamloops store, located on Hillside Drive.

A Kamloops lawyer accused of stabbing his client to death and then attempting to cover it up was captured on video surveillance at The Home Depot the day before the murder purchasing a storage tote identical to the one in which the victim’s body was found, a judge has been told.

Butch Bagabuyo, 57, is standing trial in B.C. Supreme Court on a charge of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing his client, 60-year-old Mohd Abdullah, on March 11, 2022.

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

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

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

Home Depot visits

Court was shown a series of video clips Thursday captured by security cameras at The Home Depot store on Hillside Drive in Kamloops.

Describing the videos in court, Kamloops RCMP Cpl. David Marshall said Bagabuyo visited the big-box hardware store three times in the days leading up to Abdullah’s death.

At about 6:30 p.m. on March 1, 2022, a man appearing to be Bagabuyo could be seen paying cash for a 45-gallon Husky tote, black with a red lid.

The same person returned to the store twice on March 10, 2022, one day before prosecutors say Abdullah was killed. He visited at about 4 p.m. and came back shortly after 7 p.m. to purchase a second black and red 45-gallon Husky tote.

Marshall said Mounties scoured security footage from the store as part of their investigation.

“I’m looking for any video of anyone purchasing the Husky bin, which I believe was an exclusive bin to Home Depot,” he said.

“So we initially did some inquiries just for a timeframe of purchases, then later narrowed our timeframe down.”

Abdullah’s body was discovered inside a black Husky tote with a red lid, just like the bins being purchased in the video clips.

In addition to the bin found in the van, court has heard police seized an identical Husky tote during a search of Bagabuyo’s Columbia Street home.

Continues next week

Bagabuyo’s trial will resume on Monday, the start of the final week of proceedings in Kamloops before shifting to the Vancouver Law Courts for six more weeks. Castanet's coverage of the trial will continue in Vancouver.

Photo: Castanet

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