Photo: Court exhibit

This photo of Butch Bagabuyo's Honda Pilot was taken by police shortly after he was arrested in the parking lot of a Kamloops Tim Hortons on March 18, 2022.

Police sprung into action after the body of a missing Thompson Rivers University professor was discovered inside a rented cargo van parked outside a Kamloops home three years ago — and they had their suspect in handcuffs less than 12 hours later.

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

Police testimony Wednesday laid out a timeline of the events surrounding Bagabuyo’s arrest on March 18, 2022.

According to prosecutors, Bagabuyo and Abdullah conspired in 2016 to hide $774,000 from Abdullah’s ex-wife during their separation. Abdullah, a computer sciences instructor at TRU, was trying to collect that money in the months leading up to his death, growing increasingly frustrated and “frantic,” court has heard.

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

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

A forensic pathologist is expected to testify that Abdullah died from multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck, including some that penetrated his heart. Prosecutors have said police found blood-spatter evidence inside Bagabuyo's Victoria Street law office.

According to the Crown, Bagabuyo spent Abdullah’s money on his personal living expenses and had very little other income. A forensic accountant is expected to provide evidence about that later in the trial.

Costco sting attempt

Police were called to the Monterrey Place home of Wynand Rautenbach, Bagabuyo’s elderly friend, just after 10 p.m. on March 17, 2022 — not long after Rautenbach’s curious grandson opened the cargo van and discovered Abdullah's body.

Testifying on Wednesday, RCMP Cpl. Mike Desmond, a detective in the Kamloops detachment’s serious crime unit, said he was part of an hour-long meeting that started at midnight on March 18, 2022, after which he was tasked with interviewing Rautenbach.

Desmond said he finished that interview at about 3:30 a.m., then went home for a few hours of rest.

When he returned to work at 7 a.m., Desmond said, the lead investigator on the case asked him to find a Budget rental van to match the one in which the body was found — but it had to come together quick.

“We were aware of a scheduled meet between Mr. Rautenbach and Mr. Bagabuyo at 8 a.m., so Cpl. Dave Marshall requested that I attempt to locate a Budget rental van that matched the same style and make in order that it could be parked at the Costco parking lot where the meet was supposed to happen,” he said.

“Cpl. Marshall wanted that van placed there in the event that Mr. Bagabuyo would attend that location.”

Desmond said he visited Budget but didn’t have enough time to line up a van before the 8 a.m. meeting.

Mounties on his tail

By the time the sun came up on March 18, 2022, police had their investigative efforts focused squarely on Bagabuyo.

Prior to the planned 8 a.m. Costco meeting, Desmond said, one team of investigators was surveilling Bagabuyo’s Columbia Street home, outside of which his Honda Pilot was parked, and another was waiting covertly in the Costco parking lot.

Desmond said he was listening to the other surveillance team on a police radio as Bagabuyo left his house just before 8:30 a.m. He pulled into the Costco parking lot at 8:44 a.m.

After Bagabuyo parked, Desmond said he and his partner drove by the Honda to make sure it was the right vehicle.

“We confirmed that the license plates matched that of Mr. Bagabuyo,” he said.

Desmond said he Googled Bagabuyo’s name while in the Costco parking lot and found a photo online. He said the man in the Honda looked like he could be a match.

“I found an online lawyer picture,” he said. “To me it had similar traits, but I couldn’t confirm it at that time. But based on the fact it was his vehicle, I believed it was Mr. Bagabuyo."

Desmond said Bagabuyo departed the Costco lot alone at 8:53 a.m. He was in custody minutes later.

“It was at 9:04 a.m. that I heard on the police radio that there was a male in custody at the Tim Hortons on Rogers Way,” Desmond said, describing what he saw when he pulled up moments later.

“The black Honda Pilot was kind of parked in the middle of the parking lot, the driver’s door was open."

Bagabuyo was charged with indignity to human remains and released on bail a week later. He spent another two months behind bars in 2023 after he was formally charged with murder.

The trial continues

Bagabuyo’s nine-week trial hit the 4.5-week mark on Wednesday. Proceedings will continue on Thursday at the Vancouver Law Courts with more evidence from Desmond.

The trial is scheduled to run until June 20. It’s not yet known whether Bagabuyo will call any evidence or take the stand himself.

Photo: Castanet

Police investigate in March of 2022 after a body was discovered inside a van parked on this driveway in Dufferin.