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OC Transpo drivers who killed Barrhaven's Jagtar Gill win new trials
GARY DIMMOCK
Updated: December 12, 2019
L-R Gurpreet Ronald and Bhupinderpal Gill POSTMEDIA
SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT
A Ottawa jury has found former lovers Bhupinderpal Gill and Gurpreet Ronald guilty of killing Gill’s wife Jagtar in January 2014. Jagtar’s mother Jagir Kaur (white dress) and father Ajit Singh talk to the media outside the courthouse in Ottawa Wednesday July 20, 2016. Ajit Singh said a prayer for his daughter. Tony Caldwell TONY CALDWELL / POSTMEDIA
It was a secret love affair between OC Transpo drivers that ended in cold blood, and condemned both to life in prison for first-degree murder.
But now, Gurpreet Ronald and Bhupinderpal Gill have won new trials after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the trial judge made serious legal errors.
In 2016, Ronald and Gill sat expressionless when a jury convicted them of murdering Gill’s wife, Jagtar.
The packed courtroom, remarkably silent in the moments leading to the verdict, burst into applause and cheers in the name of justice for Jagtar.
But Ronald and Gill, both former OC Transpo drivers, sat unmoved, as they had for most of the nine weeks of sometimes horrifying evidence in the Jan. 29, 2014 killing of Jagtar, a much-loved Barrhaven mom.
Jagtar, 43, was viciously slashed and bludgeoned to death as she lay weak and vulnerable on the living room couch, recovering from a recent surgery. She was killed on the 17th anniversary of her doomed, arranged marriage to Gill, 41 at the time.
43-year-old Jagtar Gill. SUBMITTED / QMI
In the police theory accepted by the jury, Ronald, 37 at the time, went to her lover’s Barrhaven home and killed his wife. She was slashed repeatedly. Her throat was slit, and she was then beat some 20 times with a weightlifting bar.
The jury — five women, seven men — didn’t buy their wild cover stories about how they had just happened on the murder scene after the fact and how they had hidden the murder weapons for fear they’d be blamed for the killing.
Jurors instead accepted the police theory that the longtime lovers had killed Jagtar so they could be together.
Moments after the guilty verdict, the pair both declined offers to say anything in court.
Jagtar’s niece, Ramandeep Chahal, had plenty to say, however, in a moving, unvarnished victim-impact statement drafted by grandparents Ajit Singh, 73, and Jagir Kaur, 71.
The murder left the family shattered.
“The best way we can describe our grief to the fortunate people who have never had to experience the murder of a loved one is to imagine the worst emotional pain that you’ve ever experienced in your life, and then multiply it by a thousand,” the niece told court at the time.
She said there is no closure, no moving on. There are no more birthdays, backyard gatherings, nothing left to celebrate.
Jagtar’s children have been robbed of their mother’s love, and have nightmares about the horror she suffered. They said Jagtar was the kind of mother who gave and gave and gave. “Jagtar had a heart as big as the world,” her niece said.
The family said it’s unfortunate Canada does not have the death penalty for such a “waste of flesh.”
“They thought it out, planned it, and then these cowards took Jagtar’s last breath. They inflicted on her unimaginable pain and suffering. Even more agonizing is that Bhupinderpal and Gurpreet did not have the courage to stand up, take the blame and be truthful,” Jagtar’s niece told court.
Jagtar’s mother Jagir Kaur (white dress) and father Ajit Singh talk to the media outside the courthouse in Ottawa Wednesday July 20, 2016. Ajit Singh said a prayer for his daughter. TONY CALDWELL / POSTMEDIA
Though Gill didn’t address the court after he was found guilty of killing his wife, he expressed much emotion moments later in the cellblocks of the Elgin Street courthouse.
Tears in his eyes, he maintained his innocence in a meeting with his father-son defence team, James and Robert Harbic. “He was devastated that the jury convicted him. He said, ‘How could this happen? I’m an innocent man’,” James Harbic recalled.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise to him, however, for it was Gill who had told a police detective in an interview: “I’m screwed.” No matter what angle you looked at it from, he looked guilty, he said to the detective.
Minutes after the guilty verdicts, Ronald also met with her lawyers. Her trial lawyer, Michael Smith, recalled that she was confused and clearly disappointed by the decision.
Jagtar’s parents, the ones who wrote the victim-impact statement, drafted different versions of it.
Sometimes the letter was angry, other times sorrowful, and sometimes it made them smile at the victim’s wonderful memory. But every version, they said, was painful.
Jagtar, by all accounts, conquered much hardship in her troubled marriage and was known as the compassionate one, always the first to lend a hand and always the first to call you on your birthday.
Her killers have now been afforded a chance at freedom after the appeal court quashed their convictions and ordered new trials.
The appeal court ruled that the trial judge, Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett, erred in instructions to the jury regarding Ronald.
In an unanimous decision, the appeal court sided with both appellants.
“There was a basis in the evidence upon which the jury could reasonably conclude that Ms. Ronald, acting alone, had murdered Ms. Gill, but have a doubt as to whether the murder was planned and deliberate. On that view, Ms. Ronald was guilty of second-degree murder. The failure to leave that possible verdict with the jury is an error in law.”
The appeal court said it was “also satisfied that, in the circumstances of this case, the failure to leave the included offence with the jury in respect of Ms. Ronald unfairly undermined the defence of Mr. Gill, resulting in a further error of law.”
The successful appeal for Gill was won by the Harbics.
“Mr. Gill is looking forward to having a chance at a fair trial and he’s very pleased that the court of appeal has ordered a new trial. If he gets a fair charge to the jury at the new trial, we’re confident he’ll get acquitted,” said James Harbic, who noted Gill’s family is “delighted” he’s been granted a new trial.
Defence lawyers Catriona Verner and Lance Beechener won the appeal for Ronald.
Shortly after the 2016 guilty verdicts, the grieving family said Jagtar’s final wishes were that her ashes be scattered in India, where they hoped her soul could finally be free from the horrors of her married life in Barrhaven.
The new trials have yet to be scheduled, and so far the secret lovers have not applied for bail while they await their next, high-profile prosecution.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...-killed-barrhavens-jagtar-gill-win-new-trials
GARY DIMMOCK
Updated: December 12, 2019
L-R Gurpreet Ronald and Bhupinderpal Gill POSTMEDIA
SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT
A Ottawa jury has found former lovers Bhupinderpal Gill and Gurpreet Ronald guilty of killing Gill’s wife Jagtar in January 2014. Jagtar’s mother Jagir Kaur (white dress) and father Ajit Singh talk to the media outside the courthouse in Ottawa Wednesday July 20, 2016. Ajit Singh said a prayer for his daughter. Tony Caldwell TONY CALDWELL / POSTMEDIA
It was a secret love affair between OC Transpo drivers that ended in cold blood, and condemned both to life in prison for first-degree murder.
But now, Gurpreet Ronald and Bhupinderpal Gill have won new trials after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the trial judge made serious legal errors.
In 2016, Ronald and Gill sat expressionless when a jury convicted them of murdering Gill’s wife, Jagtar.
The packed courtroom, remarkably silent in the moments leading to the verdict, burst into applause and cheers in the name of justice for Jagtar.
But Ronald and Gill, both former OC Transpo drivers, sat unmoved, as they had for most of the nine weeks of sometimes horrifying evidence in the Jan. 29, 2014 killing of Jagtar, a much-loved Barrhaven mom.
Jagtar, 43, was viciously slashed and bludgeoned to death as she lay weak and vulnerable on the living room couch, recovering from a recent surgery. She was killed on the 17th anniversary of her doomed, arranged marriage to Gill, 41 at the time.
43-year-old Jagtar Gill. SUBMITTED / QMI
In the police theory accepted by the jury, Ronald, 37 at the time, went to her lover’s Barrhaven home and killed his wife. She was slashed repeatedly. Her throat was slit, and she was then beat some 20 times with a weightlifting bar.
The jury — five women, seven men — didn’t buy their wild cover stories about how they had just happened on the murder scene after the fact and how they had hidden the murder weapons for fear they’d be blamed for the killing.
Jurors instead accepted the police theory that the longtime lovers had killed Jagtar so they could be together.
Moments after the guilty verdict, the pair both declined offers to say anything in court.
Jagtar’s niece, Ramandeep Chahal, had plenty to say, however, in a moving, unvarnished victim-impact statement drafted by grandparents Ajit Singh, 73, and Jagir Kaur, 71.
The murder left the family shattered.
“The best way we can describe our grief to the fortunate people who have never had to experience the murder of a loved one is to imagine the worst emotional pain that you’ve ever experienced in your life, and then multiply it by a thousand,” the niece told court at the time.
She said there is no closure, no moving on. There are no more birthdays, backyard gatherings, nothing left to celebrate.
Jagtar’s children have been robbed of their mother’s love, and have nightmares about the horror she suffered. They said Jagtar was the kind of mother who gave and gave and gave. “Jagtar had a heart as big as the world,” her niece said.
The family said it’s unfortunate Canada does not have the death penalty for such a “waste of flesh.”
“They thought it out, planned it, and then these cowards took Jagtar’s last breath. They inflicted on her unimaginable pain and suffering. Even more agonizing is that Bhupinderpal and Gurpreet did not have the courage to stand up, take the blame and be truthful,” Jagtar’s niece told court.
Jagtar’s mother Jagir Kaur (white dress) and father Ajit Singh talk to the media outside the courthouse in Ottawa Wednesday July 20, 2016. Ajit Singh said a prayer for his daughter. TONY CALDWELL / POSTMEDIA
Though Gill didn’t address the court after he was found guilty of killing his wife, he expressed much emotion moments later in the cellblocks of the Elgin Street courthouse.
Tears in his eyes, he maintained his innocence in a meeting with his father-son defence team, James and Robert Harbic. “He was devastated that the jury convicted him. He said, ‘How could this happen? I’m an innocent man’,” James Harbic recalled.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise to him, however, for it was Gill who had told a police detective in an interview: “I’m screwed.” No matter what angle you looked at it from, he looked guilty, he said to the detective.
Minutes after the guilty verdicts, Ronald also met with her lawyers. Her trial lawyer, Michael Smith, recalled that she was confused and clearly disappointed by the decision.
Jagtar’s parents, the ones who wrote the victim-impact statement, drafted different versions of it.
Sometimes the letter was angry, other times sorrowful, and sometimes it made them smile at the victim’s wonderful memory. But every version, they said, was painful.
Jagtar, by all accounts, conquered much hardship in her troubled marriage and was known as the compassionate one, always the first to lend a hand and always the first to call you on your birthday.
Her killers have now been afforded a chance at freedom after the appeal court quashed their convictions and ordered new trials.
The appeal court ruled that the trial judge, Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett, erred in instructions to the jury regarding Ronald.
In an unanimous decision, the appeal court sided with both appellants.
“There was a basis in the evidence upon which the jury could reasonably conclude that Ms. Ronald, acting alone, had murdered Ms. Gill, but have a doubt as to whether the murder was planned and deliberate. On that view, Ms. Ronald was guilty of second-degree murder. The failure to leave that possible verdict with the jury is an error in law.”
The appeal court said it was “also satisfied that, in the circumstances of this case, the failure to leave the included offence with the jury in respect of Ms. Ronald unfairly undermined the defence of Mr. Gill, resulting in a further error of law.”
The successful appeal for Gill was won by the Harbics.
“Mr. Gill is looking forward to having a chance at a fair trial and he’s very pleased that the court of appeal has ordered a new trial. If he gets a fair charge to the jury at the new trial, we’re confident he’ll get acquitted,” said James Harbic, who noted Gill’s family is “delighted” he’s been granted a new trial.
Defence lawyers Catriona Verner and Lance Beechener won the appeal for Ronald.
Shortly after the 2016 guilty verdicts, the grieving family said Jagtar’s final wishes were that her ashes be scattered in India, where they hoped her soul could finally be free from the horrors of her married life in Barrhaven.
The new trials have yet to be scheduled, and so far the secret lovers have not applied for bail while they await their next, high-profile prosecution.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...-killed-barrhavens-jagtar-gill-win-new-trials
