Photo: Castanet

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

Police were on the lookout for cables matching a homemade garrotte found around the neck of a slain Thompson Rivers University professor while searching the property of his lawyer, who is now standing trial for his murder.

Kamloops lawyer Butch Bagabuyo, 57, is standing trial in B.C. Supreme Court charged with first-degree murder in the death of his client, 60-year-old Mohd Abdullah.

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 he failed to show up to 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 pierced 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.

Cables eyed by Mounties

The sixth week of Bagabuyo’s murder trial got underway at the Vancouver Law Courts on Tuesday, with Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Mike Desmond returning to the witness stand for the fourth day of his testimony.

He has spent most of that time using photographs to provide court detail about various scenes investigated by police — Bagabuyo's office, his home, the cargo van and Abdullah's townhouse.

Court has heard a number of items were found on Abdullah's body when it was removed from the storage tote. Nylon ropes were draped around his neck and feet and what’s been called a homemade garrotte or ligature was found around his neck.

The item has been described as a length of cable with wooden handles attached at either end.

In court on Tuesday, Desmond said he was looking for similar cables while searching the backyard of Bagabuyo’s Columbia Street property.

“That was to determine if the cables were similar and if any of the crimping was similar,” Desmond said in court.

Another Mountie earlier said he examined a cable latch pull on Bagabuyo's gate for similarities to the garrotte.

Desmond said investigators located a number of similar cables in the backyard. Seven such items were filed as exhibits on the first day of Bagabuyo's trial.

An expert witness is expected to testify later in the trial linking the wooden handles on the garrotte to wood remnants found in Bagabuyo’s yard.

The trial continues

The Crown will continue to present its case when Bagabuyo’s trial picks back up on Wednesday.

The nine-week trial is scheduled to run until the middle of June. It's not yet known whether Bagabuyo will call evidence or testify himself.

Photo: RCMP

Mohd Abdullah in security camera images taken shortly before his disappearance on March 11, 2022.