RCMP witnesses describe discovery of victim’s body, as Bagabuyo murder trial dives into extensive video evidence

KAMLOOPS — The fourth day of Rogelio ‘Butch’ Bagabuyo’s first-degree murder trial saw additional witnesses called in by the Crown, including RCMP officers involved in the initial call after the victims remains were discovered.

The former Kamloops lawyer is charged in relation to the homicide of Mohd Abdullah, a lecturer at Thompson Rivers University, and a former client of Bagabuyo’s. Abdullah was killed on March 11, 2022, the same day he’d initially been reported as missing.

Prosecution’s opening statements claimed Bagabuyo had worked for Abdullah back in 2016 to hide $700,000 of his money, in an effort to keep it from being a part of Abdullah’s divorce settlement. According to the Crown’s summation, Abdullah had been trying to get Bagabuyo to return the funds to him, leading up to their scheduled meeting at Bagabuyo’s Victoria Street law office on March 11, 2022, which is where it’s alleged Abdullah had been killed.

Kamloops RCMP previously stated the investigative work made this case one of the more complex and expensive investigations the local detachment has taken on. And Thursday’s (April 17) proceedings saw a glimpse of the extensive video evidence involved.

Sgt. Kevin McIntyre of Kamloops RCMP answered questions from Crown lawyer Anna Saettler in court related to the police response stemming from a 9-1-1 call made after human remains were found in a storage tote inside a rental van parked outside a Dufferin home.

Court heard that on 10:01 p.m. March 17, 2022, police were called to a home in a Dufferin neighbourhood for a report of human remains being found. The call had come from Justin Robertson, the homeowners’ grandson who was living in the basement suite at the time. Robertson had testified earlier in the trial that after his grandfather, Wynand Rautenbach, had told them his friend, Butch Bagabuyo, wanted his help getting rid of a bin of unknown items, he grew suspicious and looked in the storage tote. This is when he says he saw a foot and leg inside the bin and called 9-1-1.

McIntyre told prosecution after one RCMP vehicle drove by to confirm there was a cargo van at the property, officers met up a couple blocks away to briefly discuss the response plan and arrived at the home at 10:17 p.m. Officer McIntyre explained that the Mounties in the five police vehicles who initially responded had decided to block in the van and other vehicles in the driveway.

Sgt. McIntyre says Robertson and his grandfather came out of the house, handed over the keys to the van and McIntyre looked inside using a flashlight.

“I noticed immediately that there was a human body inside,” he says.

McIntyre says he was able to see the person laying on their back, with legs tucked inward and ankles crossed.

The officer went on to explain it became clear to him this was a deceased person who would not require medical assistance. At this point, McIntyre says he closed the lid, locked the van and seized the keys.

The next witness, Cpl. David Marshall of Kamloops RCMP, took the stand to answer questions about an extensive series of videos, which police had seized from a number of residential surveillance systems and doorbell cameras.

The footage shown was in relation to the transfer of the storage bin from Bagbuyo’s vehicle — a black Honda Pilot — to the white rental van he’d asked Rautenbach to rent in his name, along with other items, near Dominion Park on March 15 — two days before the remains had been discovered and police had been alerted.

Time stamps on video exhibits indicate the bin transfer took place shortly after the van had been rented from a Kamloops Budget Rentals location that same afternoon.

The exhibits depicted Bagabuyo’s Black Honda Pilot, followed by the white Budget rental van driven by Rautenbach, heading eastbound on Columbia Street to Dominion Crescent on the late afternoon of March 15, 2022. The SUV leaves and is captured on video driving northbound on Columbia Street and the rental van can be seen parking on the west side of Park Crescent, next to Dominion Park.

The black SUV is seen again on video travelling eastbound, this time with a large storage bin sitting on its rear hitch trailer. Eventually, Marshall pointed to a section of the video surveillance exhibits that depicts the black Honda Pilot arriving to Park Crescent and being parked near the white rental van before the bin was carried over to the van.

The following day is when Bagabuyo and Rautenbach are alleged to have driven around the region looking for an area to bury the storage tote, which was the subject of much of yesterday’s questions of Rautenbach from both Crown and defense.

During Thursday’s session, Crown also outlined the Admissions of Fact relating to the Budget rental, and the accuracy of depictions of the black Honda Pilot and Budget rental van shown in a number of the video exhibits.

After viewing and speaking to details of a lengthy compilation of video surveillance clips, proceedings adjourned Thursday afternoon, and are set to resume again at Kamloops Law Courts on April 22.