Canadian True Crime - 71 The Murder of Jagtar Gill

Episode Date: July 1, 2020

ONTARIO - In 2014, a 15 year old went to the grocery store with her father. It was her parents’ 17th wedding anniversary - but her mother was recovering at home from a hernia operation she’d had the day before, so the teenager and her father went to pick out a cake and bring flowers back to her. But what they would be confronted with when they returned, would change their lives forever.Podcast recommendation:The Secret Life of CanadaThanks for supporting my sponsors!See the special offer codes hereCredits:Research and writing: Diedre Bradley and Kristi LeeAudio editing and production: We Talk of Dreams  Disclaimer voiced by the host of Beyond Bizarre True Crime Theme Song: We Talk of Dreams  All credits and information sources can be found on the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast contains coarse language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. It was a late January morning, almost lunchtime, and a suburb in the southwest end of Ottawa called Barhaven. 15-year-old Sachi Gill was heading to the grocery store with her father. It was her parents' 17th wedding anniversary, but her mother, Jagtar, was recovering at home from a hernia operation she'd had the day before. So, Sachi went with her father, Bupindipal, to pick out a cake and flowers to bring back to her mother as a surprise. But when they arrived back home at about 1 p.m., Sachi noticed that something was not right.

The front door was unlocked. They hadn't left it that way. They never did. And then, as she entered the living room, holding a bouquet of red roses, she saw her mother Jagtar on the floor. At first, Sachi thought her mum had fallen off the couch, but then she saw blood. It was everywhere. It looked like her mother's ear had been cut off. Sachi froze and screamed for her father. Bupindipal came running in and saw his wife lying on the floor. Distraught, he didn't know what to do. Sachi ran upstairs to the house phone to try and call 911, but there was no dial tone. Her father called 911 on his cell phone. The operator repeatedly asked Bupindipal if he or his daughter could put Jagtar on her back, because he needed to check for a pulse and begin CPR. He replied that he couldn't do it.

Quote, I need help before I faint on myself. I can't see. But it was too late. The ambulance arrived followed by two police cars and 43-year-old Jagtar Gill was pronounced dead. She was Ottawa's first homicide victim of 2014. This is Christy and you're listening to Canadian True Crime, Episode 71. One of the first responders to the scene was Ottawa police constable Tina Gallishon, who spoke with each member of the family. At one point, she glanced over at the window panel next to the front door and saw a woman outside the house. She opened the door to find out who the woman was and of course to tell her that she couldn't come in because it was a murder scene after all. The woman seemed frantic and said she was out of breath from running.

She tried to glance into the house and asked if everything was okay. The constable of course couldn't tell her much, which made the woman even more frantic. The woman said she wasn't a family member but a neighbour who knew the people who lived in the house. Officer Gallishon told her that Jagtar Gill had passed away. The woman put up her hands to her mouth and cried, Jagtar, Jagtar. Police started processing the crime scene straight away, which meant the entire house room by room. They announced to the media that they hadn't yet identified any suspects and added that Jagtar's husband Bupindipal had a solid alibi since he was shopping with their daughter at the time. This was confirmed via video surveillance.

Relatives of the Gill family spoke to CBC News, describing Jagtar as strong and bold. Her brother-in-law said she was nice and everyone remembers her, she has a special personality, everyone has something I don't know how I can explain, but if you talk to her once, you won't forget her. As the police continued the investigation, the local community speculated on what was happening. It was odd, Jagtar was recovering from surgery and had only been alone just over an hour while her husband and daughter went to the grocery store. And the subdivision they lived in was new and still under construction. In fact, entry to it was via only one road and there were security cameras installed by the developer to protect the show homes. It was not the kind of area that had an issue with break-ins and the police wouldn't confirm whether there were signs of forcible entry to the Gill home. Jagtar and Bupindipal Gill were Sikhs, a religion that originated in the Indian subcontinent that believes in equality and service to others.

There had been several break-ins in the general area that seemed to be targeted at South Asians and the Sikh community in particular wondered if this attack on Jagtar Gill was related to that. Balraj Dhillon, president of the Sikh temple in Nipian, described Jagtar's death to CBC as a terrible tragedy, adding that the Gill family were well known and respected in the community. Quote, this hit so close to everybody's heart, the tragic part is that the kids are so young, we'll see what role the community can play in bringing them up. As well as Sachi, who was 15, Bupindipal and Jagtar had two more children aged 10 and 8. The autopsy concluded that Jagtar Gill died of multiple stab wounds, including a deep penetrating wound that cut right through the spinal column. She had knife cuts all over her hands and fingers, likely proof of a fierce struggle with her attacker. But she wasn't just stabbed. The forensic pathologist found that before Jagtar was stabbed to death, she'd been bludgeoned with a blunt object, so two murder weapons. Almost a week after Jagtar's death, more than 300 people attended a traditional Sikh ceremony to mourn her loss.

Friends and family remembered her being hardworking and devoted to her family, but at the same time, they hoped the police would come through with answers soon. Jagtar's immediate family kept her ashes at the funeral home until they felt they could get some closure on what happened to her. Investigators were still combing for evidence and had expanded the search. They'd now canvassed the neighbourhood and nearby businesses, conducted interviews of people close to the scene and had seized all available surveillance footage from the area. Behind the scenes, the police had unearthed several pieces of evidence at the Gill House. They recovered knives in the sink area with blood on them. They also found blood on the rim around the kitchen sink as well as the tap. And on the floor of the kitchen, there was a can of household cleaner that had blood on it.

In the family room, police found blood on the carpet and the couch. A small table rested near Jagtar's body, one of the legs of the table had been broken off. Near the body, police found the finger of a blue latex glove. But it wasn't just restricted to the first floor. On the second floor, there was blood found on a hallway baseboard. There was more blood found on the door to the master bedroom and again on a bathroom mat in front of the sink. As you'll remember, when Sachi went to call 911, there was no dial tone on the landline. Police discovered that the cable to the main phone had been deliberately removed

and it looked like several other phone cables had been removed too. Perhaps the most intriguing piece of evidence was a weightlifting 4.5 kilogram metal bar that had blood on it found in the basement. This was likely the instrument that was used to bludgeon Jagtar before she was ultimately stabbed to death. But something was off about this situation. The police took the weightlifting bar into evidence but they wanted to do a test. They got their hands on an exact replica and put sheet blood on it to make it look authentic. And then they set it back where they found it with a concealed video camera next to it. Jagtar Gill

Jagtar Gill came to Canada from India in her early 20s along with her parents and siblings. Four years after that, in 1997, she returned to the Punjabi region in India for an arranged marriage, a common Sikh practice. She married Burpindipal Gill and the couple returned to Canada settling in Ottawa. Jagtar was 26 and Burpindipal was 20. Jagtar already had a steady job at an electronics company and Burpindipal took a job driving a taxi. They wanted to try and get ahead financially so that meant they had to work hard, delivering newspapers in the early morning hours of the day and pizza at night. Around two years into their marriage, they had their first child, a daughter, before having two more, another daughter and a son.

Burpindipal landed a secure job as a bus driver with OC Transpo, Ottawa's public transit agency. Together, the couple continued saving money and eventually they scraped together enough for a fully detached double garage home in a new subdivision in Barhaven. Jagtar loved to cook in the kitchen, carefully crafting the flavours of her family's favourite Indian meals. And it wasn't just Jagtar, Burpindipal and their three children living there, they also supported Burpindipal's elderly parents. A blow to the family happened in October of 2013, just three months before Jagtar's body was found. She got laid off from her long-term job with the electronics company and then she needed to have that hernia surgery. The police were still surveilling the basement, hoping that someone would come back to retrieve the blood-stained weightlifting bar. It worked. Ten days after Jagtar's death, the grainy footage shows Burpindipal Gill going over to the box of Christmas decorations,

grabbing the bar from on top of it and then hiding the bar under his winter jacket and up his sleeve. But he wasn't successful, it was too big to conceal so he put it back in the box. The next day, he went back and stuffed the bar down his pants. He zipped up his coat and left the house. Police then followed him to a wooded area where they watched him toss the bar away. Later, they went behind him and recovered it. But it can't have been Burpindipal who murdered Jagtar. He had a solid alibi, shopping with their 15-year-old daughter at the time. And the night of Jagtar's death, he gave the police permission to search the house. Why would he give that permission if he knew the suspicious item was there in the open? The police devised a plan that they hoped would prod Burpindipal to give up more information. Ottawa police issued a fake news release announcing they'd found a bloody metal bar in a wooded area and they believed it was linked to the Jagtar Gill homicide investigation.

They wanted anyone with knowledge of it to come forward. It worked. Just days later, Burpindipal Gill contacted the police to say he was the one who found the bar and threw it away. He went in for questioning where he told them that his daughter had reminded him that he had picked up a blood-stained bar next to Jagtar's body. In the frenzy, he had completely forgotten about this as he ran upstairs and into the basement, searching the house in fear that the attacker might still be inside. Burpindipal said that when he went downstairs to the basement more than a week later to put the Christmas decorations away, he inadvertently discovered where he'd left the bar. He said that he'd noticed the blood on it but didn't wash it off. The detective asked Burpindipal why he didn't call police about throwing out the bar earlier. The response was that he was scared and nervous and it was hard to explain.

When asked what he'd be scared of, he essentially said that with three kids and two elderly parents depending on him, he didn't want to be charged with his wife's murder just because he'd forgotten he'd moved a weightlifting bar. He acknowledged that he looked guilty but insisted he was not. But the police were already putting together the pieces of the puzzle. Their canvassing of the area and questioning of neighbours had revealed some interesting things. A neighbour called Scott told police that he was friends with Burpindipal Gill and would often invite him over to show him how to do various home repairs. Scott told police that he visited Burpindipal at his house the day after Jagtar's murder but he noticed that there was nobody crying and no one seemed to be wondering or asking who was responsible. Burpindipal confessed to Scott at that time that he hadn't told the police everything. He disturbed the crime scene.

He'd moved his wife's body and he'd found two bloody knives which he washed off in the kitchen sink. He also told Scott that he was concerned that his fingerprints were on the knife. He grabbed a towel and cleaned up more of the blood. Scott was shocked and told his friend that the police would consider his actions to be extremely suspicious. It either made him look guilty or made him look like he was covering something up. The words must have sunk in because later that day Burpindipal told the police about his actions in disturbing the crime scene. He said he couldn't remember if there was blood on the knives but he knew there was blood on his hand because he touched his wife's body. Burpindipal said that he had a brain freeze after he touched the knives and had no idea what he should have done.

Quote, I was nervous and scared. I saw my wife's neck cut up and I saw blood on my hand so I washed it. But a crime scene disturbance wasn't all Scott had to say on the situation. Burpindipal gills friend and neighbour also told police that when he would come over for the DIY home repairs, Burpindipal would often bring a woman with him that wasn't his wife Jagtar. The woman was another neighbour of theirs at the subdivision, 35-year-old Gurpreet Ronald. Scott noticed that Burpindipal and Gurpreet were playing with each other and joking around. To him it seemed like they were a couple in stark contrast to Burpindipal and Jagtar who seemed to have a far less affectionate relationship. The police had already spoken to Gurpreet Ronald as they canvassed the neighbourhood.

As it turns out Constable Tina Gallishon, the first responder to the crime scene, identified Gurpreet as being the frantic out-of-breath woman that she saw approaching the house. Gurpreet told police that at first she believed that Jagtar Gill had suffered a fatal heart attack but later read news stories suggesting that her neighbour's death had been violent and police were treating it as a homicide. Quote, to be honest I'm shocked, I'm shocked, I just don't know how to respond to that. 35-year-old Gurpreet Ronald had moved from India at a young age and had stated to her father that she didn't want an arranged marriage.

She was determined to pick her husband for herself. She ended up marrying Jason Ronald, a white Canadian and at the time of Jagtar's murder the couple had been married for 13 years and had two daughters. But their marriage was not seen as a happy one. They fought over money constantly. Gurpreet would say that for more than half their years together Jason Ronald had frequently threatened to divorce her. They were both having affairs, their fights often turned violent and they were absolutely broke. Gurpreet was brought back into the station for questioning and she changed her story.

She told police that she and Jagtar Gill were close friends, they went shopping together. Gurpreet was also a trained hairdresser and cut Jagtar's hair. She also said she was close with Bupindipal, not only because they were neighbours but because they worked together as bus drivers at OC Transbow. In a police interview later released to the media, Gurpreet described Bupindipal as a trusted colleague and said they would text each other and talk on the phone during their work day. Gurpreet told police that Bupindipal's background as a taxi driver came in handy when she got lost on new bus routes. She was asked if she ever saw him outside of work, just the two of them.

The Rideau Centre is a shopping mall and public transit hub. I had to start at Herdman and Rideau Centre is like one minute or so. Then I could pick up a coffee for him and no, to say that we would leave from house to go out, no. It's often been, we're travelling to work and if we happen to see each other, we'll grab each other coffee and if I happen to know he's going to be there at that time and I'll ask him, do you want a coffee, man? And I would give him a coffee or if he, it's vice versa. So it's only when we are at work, if we happen to see each other. Gurpreet was asked to describe Bupindipal and Jagtar Gill as a couple.

They are very traditional. They are very traditional. I am not traditional in that sense. I do love my Indian food. I love my Indian culture. Thank you. I am vegetarian so I cook a lot of vegetarian but I do cook meat for my family and my husband. I can cook a steak. I learn a lot of cooking. I will wear my dresses, my traditional dresses and I won't. So it depends which family we're going to visit and I'll go according to that. Mrs. Gill, how is it? Always traditional. As far as I've seen her, she's always wearing the Punjabi suit and always, I call her traditional from what I see.

And in terms of their relationship, was that more traditional? It's more like my mom and dad's marriage. She was asked to describe what she was doing on the day Jagtar was murdered. Between 9.30 and 10.30 I woke up. Because if I wake up before my alarm, I just don't look at the time. I just get up. The first thing I do always is brush my teeth. I went brush my teeth, washed my face, came down, made a cup of tea, cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, started doing my cleaning. And I knew Rosie was coming in the afternoon, my designer.

00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:16,600 And that was pre-planned. What kind of designer is that? Interior designer. She was coming so I just started preparing shelves for her. She told me to put on some shelves and do some of the work. She tells me what to do and then I have things ready for her. So when she comes, she puts the decoration pieces where she wants.

And spikes up the place. And that's pretty much it. So that's all I was doing, getting ready for her. Okay. And did you leave your house at any point? I did. I think I left the house quarter to one. As you'll recall, Bhupindipal and Sachi went out to buy the flowers just before lunchtime and returned at around 1pm. And went out, came back.

Where did you go to? I went to Sobi's. To Sobi's? Yeah. Okay. Do you remember what you bought? Nothing really. I just looked, I thought there was some good deals on the food, but no, I just came back. Okay.

Yeah. About that trip to Sobi's, Gherpreet would later change her story about that too. She would tell police that she did have a reason to go there. She went to get cauliflower. And by chance, she ran into Bhupindipal who just happened to have three cauliflower along with a bouquet of flowers. Gherpreet said they exchanged pleasantries and she hugged his 15-year-old daughter Sachi before leaving. The police asked Gherpreet why she didn't actually purchase any cauliflower. Her response was that Bhupindipal was buying three of them and she implied she would be able to get one of his.

She said as she drove back into her subdivision at about 1.30pm, she noticed police cars near the Gill's house and stopped off there to find out what happened. She described the police officer telling her that she had to leave. As you'll recall, she said she was preparing for her interior decorator to come over later that day. Gherpreet said as she arrived home, her interior designer and friend Rosa was waiting for her in the driveway. They had planned to meet that day to discuss some interior decorating projects. Gherpreet told police that the next day, she summoned up the courage to call the Gill family to offer her condolences. She said she spoke briefly to Bhupindipal and asked him what happened. He told her to read the news and then pass the phone to a relative.

Gherpreet was asked what she thought after reading the graphic details of Jagtar's murder in the news. Well, you know, here's the person that you know walking and alive and then... How do you picture that? I don't know. How do you envision that this happened? I'm trying not to, to be honest. I just... I'm not even... I think I'm sort of... I'm trying not to. I think my whole battle is right now and I know eventually I'm going to have to admit it. Eventually I'm going to have to face it, but I'm going to fight it as much as I can.

Gherpreet was then asked if she knew if Jagtar had any enemies. Out of all the people that you know that they associate with, is there anybody you'd go? See, that's the thing. I can't. I can't even picture. I can't even picture at all in any way. Like, no. Do you think it could be somebody she knows? Honestly, I don't know because she had a very private life and she was not... With me, if I talk to somebody for half an hour, I'm sure they get to know me a lot, because I talk. People's ear off. I'll start any topic and just go blah blah blah and ask about you, what you do, how you become a cop.

Oh, how exciting. How do you get in there? You know, it's a great job. I like, you know, you look great. Oh, I always thought the cops are, you know, you look sexy, you look good. You know, I'm that kind of person. And I often distract myself from the grief by doing that too. That's a coping mechanism, right? 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:37,600 Yeah, that's okay. That's not a bad thing. I don't know if it's a good or bad, but that's what I do. Have you heard any talk, like, from any of the people that, you know, you associate, because it's a pretty tight-knit group, right?

Yes, I haven't been to work. I haven't been to work and I am so sure that as soon as I get to work, I will hear it. But nobody's calling you and said, like, what the heck? Yes, my friends have called me for work. Tell you. They talked about, no, they're all asking, what's going on, what's going on, what's going on? And I said, all I send them, everybody, the techman, just pray. I do not know, just pray. At the end of the interview, Gohpreet Ronald said she felt dizzy after she stood up. She was then observed to become emotional. She stated she was having a breakdown. She asked how Bu Pindipal and Jagtar's children were, and she pleaded with the officer to tell her what really happened.

And then the officer saw a band-aid on Gohpreet's fingers and asked her what happened. The woman replied that she was cutting a potato bag with a knife that was usually blunt, but she didn't know that her father-in-law had just sharpened it and the knife sliced into her hand. The police tracked down Gohpreet's interior designer friend Rosa. She said Gohpreet had told her that she believed her husband was having an affair and she wanted to leave the marriage. Rosa had also met Bu Pindipal Gill several times and noticed that the two had obvious feelings for each other. But Gohpreet would only describe him as an old family friend. Rosa told police that on the day of Jagtar's murder, she was waiting in Gohpreet's driveway for the woman to arrive home.

At around 3.30, Gohpreet swung in, looking out of sorts and distracted. Rosa asked what was wrong, and Gohpreet said something about her husband and then broke down crying, telling Rosa that she was having an affair. All of a sudden, Rosa said Gohpreet's two children ran in screaming about the police being at the nearby Gill House. Gohpreet confided in Rosa that she had seen Bu Pindipal earlier at the grocery store, and then she described going to the Gill Home front door. She said she saw police there, but she didn't know what was going on. Rosa said that two days later, she went up to check on Gohpreet, and she brought up the issue about the blood. Gohpreet said she had seen Bu Pindipal earlier at the grocery store, but she didn't know what was going on.

Rosa said she had seen Bu Pindipal earlier at the grocery store, and then she described going to the Gill Home front door. She said she saw police there, but noticed the door was ajar, so took a peek inside, and she saw blood. She described the issue about the blood. Gohpreet seemed confused about whether it happened, but asked her friend not to tell police. She didn't want the police knowing that she had seen the blood. Rosa said no, she can't lie to police. Gohpreet then told Rosa about her police interview, and said she now thought her phone was tapped. Rosa told police that she felt uncomfortable having the conversation, so she made an excuse to leave the house. Gohpreet's phone had been tapped. As had Bu Pindipal's, they were both under surveillance. The police were highly suspicious.

When Bu Pindipal had first been interviewed by police, he told them that he and Gohpreet were just friends and co-workers and nothing more. The police thought that if the two had any involvement in Jagtar's murder, surely they'd slip and talk to each other about it at some point. Something like disposal of the murder weapon, or getting their story straight. But they didn't. And police had been looking at Bu Pindipal's phone records. In the month before Jagtar's murder, he and Gohpreet had chatted on the phone around 250 times, including on the day of Jagtar's murder. That's an average of about 8 phone calls a day. In terms of evidence, all police had so far were suspicions and circumstantial evidence. They needed something more concrete. What they did have was an abundance of DNA from blood from around the house.

They knew that when a weapon like a knife is used in an attack, it is more than likely that the attacker will sustain a wound as well. And Gohpreet Ronald had that cut on her hand. If she was involved, maybe some of the blood at the scene was hers. But they had to get her DNA first and they also wanted to find another way to get Gohpreet or Bu Pindipal to mention something about Jagtar's murder. Or get proof that the two were having an affair. Do you have a passion project that you're ready to take to the next level? Squarespace makes it easy for anyone to create an engaging web presence, grow a brand and sell anything from your products to the content you create and even your time. When I launched this passion project six years ago, I needed some kind of online hub to manage all the non-podcasting tasks that come with podcasting.

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Do you have a passion project or business idea or something to sell? Go to squarespace.com.ctc for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code CTC to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com.ctc with offer code CTC and get your passion project off the ground today. The Ottawa Police Service obtained a warrant that allowed them to execute a small undercover sting with the goal of getting information from Gerpreet in two ways. First, a detective from the major crimes unit knocked on Gerpreet's door, introducing herself as a representative from a construction association. Gerpreet was told that if she participated in a survey, she would go into the drawer to win six free months of mortgage payments. She filled out the survey and was asked to lick the envelope it was put in for the drawer. DNA sample, check.

The other ruse the police brainstormed didn't work. They wanted proof of the affair that Bupendipal and Gerpreet were having. Maybe if the pair went away together, a warrant for surveillance could be obtained and police might capture something incriminating. So, the undercover detective told Gerpreet she'd won an early bird door prize for filling out the survey, which was a weekend for two at a hotel in Ottawa. All seemed promising, but Gerpreet turned down the door prize. Next idea, detectives planted a note on the windshield of Gerpreet's van when it was parked at her workplace OC Transbow. The note had one word, killer. They hoped that Gerpreet would see it and call Bupendipal to talk about the murder, but she didn't.

She contacted her employer who then contacted the police. She never contacted Bupendipal about the note. As you'll recall, Bupendipal initially told police that he and Gerpreet were co-workers and friends, but nothing more. Well, after more questioning, he broke down and admitted that they had in fact had an affair, which had started four years earlier. But he said the affair ended months before Jagtar's death. Bupendipal told police that he was still friends with Gerpreet, but had decided to move away from any other kind of relationship with her. Detective Chris Benson accused him of lying and knowing that Gerpreet was going to kill his wife. Bupendipal denied it. Quote, I didn't want to see my wife like that. She doesn't deserve this. We worked hard every day and didn't get to enjoy our lives.

Bupendipal was asked, why would Gerpreet want to kill your wife? He said he didn't know, but he wanted to ask her. The detective kept pressing him. Quote, put yourself in my shoes. How would your situation look to me? Bupendipal said that from every angle, he looked guilty. Quote, from my situation, I'm screwed. I'm deep enough into this. I should go to jail. I'm stuck. No matter what I say, I'm in mud. Bupendipal referenced the weightlifting bar, saying that he was stupid, super-duper stupid, to throw it away, but he maintained that he had nothing to do with his wife's death. He complained that the only reason he and Gerpreet were friends in the first place is because she was coming to him for help with her bus routes. Quote, I'm paying the price today of being helpful to someone. Detective Benson asked him again if he had any involvement in his wife's murder or any knowledge of who might have killed her.

Bupendipal said no. The results of the forensic testing were in. The swabs of blood lifted from the rug next to Jagtar Gill's body as well as blood in the kitchen, upstairs hallway and upstairs bathroom was tested. None of it matched Bupendipal Gill, but DNA belonging to Gerpreet Ronald was found throughout the house. Six weeks after Jagtar Gill's death, Gerpreet Ronald was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. CBC News noted that Bupendipal Gill showed up at the courthouse for her first court appearance and he brought all three of the children he had with Jagtar Gill. But Bupendipal would be returning to court just four days later after he was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Friends and family attended court for his first appearance, many of them leaving in tears.

CBC News reported that police sources said a motive for the killing may have been a love triangle and several people close to the couple had come forward to say they had known of marital difficulties for several months. It was also pointed out that four days after Jagtar's murder, Gerpreet's Facebook account left a comment under a Facebook post on the case from the Otterworth citizen, quote, my prayers and thoughts are with the Gill family. It was announced that Bupendipal and Gerpreet would be tried as co-accused in the one trial instead of having separate trials. The trial began in May of 2016, two and a half years after Jagtar Gill's murder. Her husband, Bupendipal Gill, 40 years old and 37-year-old Gerpreet Ronald both pleaded not guilty to their first-degree murder charges. They were observed to be sitting a bench apart from each other in the witness box, rarely looking at each other. CBC News described them both as looking haggard.

In opening statements, the Crown presented a summary of their case. Bupendipal Gill reportedly hated his wife, but they both did not consider divorce an option because they were Sikhs, according to the Crown. Meanwhile, Bupendipal and Gerpreet were involved in a long-standing affair and together they conspired to kill Jagtar, who Gerpreet hated as well. The Crown's theory was that Bupendipal would be out of the house running errands with his teenage daughter, leaving Jagtar alone. And during that time, Gerpreet would go to the home at around noon, pretending to want to borrow some tools. On this day, Jagtar was at her most vulnerable, said the Crown, since it was the day after she'd had abdominal surgery. The Crown's case was that Gerpreet used a metal weightlifting bar that Bupendipal had left out for her. After an unsuccessful attempt to bludgeon Jagtar to death with it, Gerpreet grabbed a knife, stabbed Jagtar multiple times and then slit her throat.

According to Crown prosecutors, Gerpreet then called Bupendipal and went to meet up with him and his daughter at Sobis. And then, Bupendipal and 15-year-old Sachi returned home, where he allowed her to be the first to discover the bloody and beaten body of her mother while she was holding a bouquet of flowers for her. Sachi, whose real name is under publication, Ben, did not testify at the trial because she was still traumatized, but video of her police interview was played for the jury. She told them, I cried so much and then I can't feel it anymore. When she was asked to characterize her parents' marriage, she said they had their arguments about small things, but they were always really happy. There was no violence, she said. At the end of the interview, Sachi looked at the detective and asked, who would want to do this on my parents' anniversary? The Crown called witnesses from the Ottawa Police Service to take the jury through the investigation, including the video from Gerpreet and Bupendipal's police interviews.

Expert witnesses took the jury through the processing of the crime scene. The bloody shirt that Jagtar had been wearing at the time was shown to the jury. It had multiple puncture marks in the fabric, especially near the neck, collar and shoulders. Graphic photos of Jagtar's body were shown, which was distressing for her family members and friends. Jagtar's brother, Satna Mann, screamed at Bupendipal Gill, telling the man to open his eyes and look at the picture. Her father, Ajit Singh Mann, had already broken down and left the courtroom before this outburst. Forensic pathologist Dr Christopher Milroy provided testimony described by CBC as chilling. He referred to the two murder weapons, describing how mid-attack, the killer switched from using a blunt weightlifting bar to using a sharp knife.

Graphic photos were shown of the cuts into Jagtar's hands and fingers, which Dr Milroy said was proof that she'd put up a desperate fight, in spite of the fact that she was recovering from surgery. Harjinder Sidhu, Jagtar Gill's sister, was observed to be sitting quietly, a river of tears rolling down her cheeks. She was handed a box of tissues by an officer of the court. Other witnesses called to testify were Scott, Bupendipal's neighbour and friend, and Rosa, the interior decorator who described her encounter with Gherpreet in the days after Jagtar's murder. And then, there was a woman called Suzanne, who was referred to as the Crown Star Witness. She contacted the police after hearing about the murder on the news. Suzanne was a part-time life coach, Feng Shui expert and clairvoyant, and testified that she had been approached by Bupendipal and Gherpreet in 2012, at least a year before Jagtar's murder. The pair wanted relationship guidance.

Suzanne testified that during their first meeting, they told her that they were having an affair with each other, and they both despised Jagtar. Gherpreet reportedly called her the Devil, and Bupendipal called her Nazi Woman. The court heard that Gherpreet asked Suzanne if she could conduct a reading to see if she and Bupendipal would end up together. Suzanne told the pair that she wasn't a fortune teller, but she was sometimes visited by dead people when their relatives paid for a session. She offered to help Gherpreet connect with her late mother, but that was all she could do. During another session, Suzanne testified that Gherpreet told her that she and Bupendipal would do anything to be together. She said that Bupendipal was a man of few words, but he nodded in agreement. The crown positioned this interaction as proof of motive and intent for murder.

On cross-examination, Bupendipal's lawyer took issue with Suzanne's testimony that Bupendipal had nodded in agreement, and noted that she had never said that before, including in previous police statements or at the preliminary hearing. It was suggested that she made it up. Suzanne denied this, adding that she had no benefit in lying to the court. She said she'd just never been asked what Bupendipal had said before. But his lawyer told the court that she actually did have a motive to lie, because she and Bupendipal had since had a falling out. Apparently, Suzanne provided a Feng Shui service at the Gil home, charging them $2,400 for 15 visits. Bupendipal was angry about the cost, at one point accusing her of fraud and being a scam artist. Suzanne also said that she helped Jagtar and Bupendipal to stage their previous house so it could be ready to sell. But when the offer for the home was lower than expected, Bupendipal and Gurpreet called Suzanne and blamed her for it, saying, quote, We will survive, despite how incompetent you are.

Suzanne testified that she believed the we, they spoke of, referred to Bupendipal and Gurpreet, even though the sale of the house involved Bupendipal and his wife Jagtar. Suzanne also testified that while the previous Gil home was being renovated, Gurpreet had a key to the house. She didn't know if the woman had a key to the new house. Bupendipal Gil testified in his own defence with the help of a Punjabi interpreter. He spoke about his arranged marriage to Jagtar, telling the court that just two days after the wedding, Jagtar's father drank too much and told Bupendipal that he wasn't worthy of his daughter. But despite the rough start, Bupendipal said the first few years of his marriage were good. The couple both worked hard at their day jobs and their part-time jobs. But he said their intimacy decreased and by 2008, five years before Jagtar's murder, Bupendipal had taken to sleeping on a mattress on the floor of their bedroom. But despite this, he testified that he loved Jagtar.

Quote, Yes, we had no physical relations, but she was the mother of my three children. Then, Bupendipal spoke about Gurpreet and how they worked at OC Transboro together, driving buses. He said they started off as friends, but started having an affair in 2010, although he said he never felt love for her. According to Bupendipal, he ended the affair just a few months before Jagtar's murder. He told the court that he confessed the affair to Jagtar at the time and told her that it had ended. He apologized to her and he said after that she decided that she wanted to move away from the area. As for Suzanne, the life coach's testimony that she conducted a counselling session with Gurpreet and Bupendipal about the future of their relationship, he denied ever attending such a session.

He said that he only hired Suzanne to help sell his house. On cross-examination, the crown prosecutor suggested to Bupendipal that his role in the murder was to get the weapons ready for Gurpreet to use. Of course, this was the bloody weightlifting bar which he brought upstairs from the basement and the knives. Bupendipal said, I never did something like that. He said that Gurpreet should be asked instead because it was her DNA found at the scene. When asked why he tampered with the evidence and disturbed the crime scene, Bupendipal said he was only worried about himself and didn't want to go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. He'd said that before, but on the stand he also offered up a new reason.

He said in 2004, 10 years before Jagtar's death, her parents had accused him of threatening to kill her. He said it was a false accusation, but he was fearful about her family suspecting that he had anything to do with her death. He said that in the time after Jagtar's death, there were rumours spreading among his friends and family that Gurpreet was the culprit. He testified that he did confront her over it and she told him she would never do something like that and also that she had an alibi. Bupendipal said he didn't press her on what the alibi was, but told the court that he believed her because she'd always treated him and his family well. Also testifying for the defence, for the side of Bupendipal Gill was 42-year-old Jason Ronald, Gurpreet Ronald's husband. He said they were planning to separate at the time of Jagtar's death. He told the court that his estranged wife tried to stab him on four different occasions.

He described one of those times saying that during a long argument, Gurpreet came at him swinging an 8-inch long kitchen knife with a thick blade about 3-4 inches thick. He mimicked for the jury a knife-stabbing action and said it was much like in the movie Psycho. Jason described another typical argument where Gurpreet menacingly held up a knife again, but then their daughter, who was sitting on the stairs nearby, asked what she was doing so she dropped it. Jason told the court that incidents like these got so common that when another argument heated up, he asked, is this going to be another knife night? He told the court, I always felt her hatred was reserved for me, but clearly I was wrong. When asked why he never contacted the police to report these threatening incidents, he said he was embarrassed and ashamed, and he admitted he wasn't perfect either. He had an affair in the months leading up to Gurpreet's arrest, and he also had issues with substance addiction. As you'll recall, Bupindipal claimed that he ended the affair with Gurpreet several months before Jagtar's murder.

Jason knew about the affair and thought that it was still going on as of late 2013 and January 2014 when Jagtar was murdered. Quote, they stared at each other with love in their eyes. Jason also described a time when he was under the influence and went over to Bupindipal's house to talk to him about Gurpreet. The lawyer asked him if his intention was to confront Bupindipal about his secret affair. Quote, no, I was just going to tell him to take her if he wanted her. The Ottawa citizen reported that while Jason fought back a laugh as he was saying this, this comment prompted a lot of laughter in the courtroom. The sister of Bupindipal Gill also testified to counter the Crown's theory that the pair plotted to kill Jagtar because divorce was not an option in the Sikh faith. She said that it wasn't true, divorce is accepted, and in fact she knew of 23 people in her family alone who were divorced.

It was time for Gurpreet Ronald to testify in her own defence. But first, her team made what was described as a surprise announcement. As you'll remember, Gurpreet originally told police that she was at her house cleaning alone until she went to Sobi's, which is where she ran into Bupindipal. She never presented an alibi, but just before she testified, her lawyer revealed her alibi to the court. She was reportedly having tea with a doctor at the time of Jagtar's murder. According to the Ottawa citizen, a stunned silence fell over the courthouse. But no witness or evidence was produced to confirm this, and in fact no other mention of it was made. Gurpreet Ronald took to the stand.

She spoke about the issues in her marriage to Jason and her four-year affair with Bupindipal. She said it started as an emotional connection that led to physical intimacy, but she added that her sexual relationship with him was not satisfying, so she had a second affair that overlapped with another driver for OC Transport. Despite Jason saying they were separating at the time, Gurpreet testified that she still had hope for the marriage and believed that divorce wasn't an option. In response to this, the prosecutor showed the jury numerous text messages that Gurpreet had sent to friends. In one of them, she described the woman she believed her husband Jason was having an affair with as,

fucking ugly. The crown said, There's no going back, you're tearing down the foundation of your relationship. Gurpreet said she could see the point that was being made, but added, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm better looking than her. According to the Ottawa citizen, this raised eyes in the gallery. Gurpreet, Ronald was then asked to explain why her DNA was found all over the crime scene, and she testified that she had actually discovered the body before Bupindipal even came home from Sobies.

She said she came over to the Gill home to say hi and get some tools when she saw the door was unlocked. She tiptoed inside and shouted, Hello? As she walked around. Then, she saw Jagtar Gill lying on her back on the floor. Quote, I saw her body. I was shocked.

As I came close, I saw her neck cut. It was wide open. I was freaking out. I might have yelled and screamed. I was running out of breath. I felt I was going to faint. She testified that while she was crying, she was going to faint.

She testified that what she'd stumbled across was horrific and she was shaken up to her core. The court heard that Gurpreet suddenly felt something under her foot and saw it was a knife. She picked it up but saw there was blood on her hand so she threw the knife back down. She told the court she was nervous and scared when she realized she'd touched the knife. She noticed a box of rubber gloves on the dining room table so put a pair on and went to wipe the knife and that's how she cut her finger. Quote, I grabbed the knife and I was shaking and wiping at the same time. She said she went upstairs to look for bandages explaining the blood stains found on the second floor.

She was then asked why she didn't call 911 when she stumbled across the dead body of a friend and neighbor. Quote, From where I was standing, I would be blamed for it. It comes to me. The finger is pointed at me. That's why I didn't make the call. She took with her a knife and the box of gloves saying that they had a bloody handprint on them. As you'll recall, there was a tip of a finger cut off one of the gloves. On cross-examination, the crown suggested to her that it had been cut off while she was struggling with Jaguar during the attack. Quote, She testified that she called Bupindipal Gill and said,

Do you know what's going on at your house? What the fuck? She said he told her he was busy and hung up on her. She called him back two minutes later and he said he was at Sobeys. So there she went. As you'll recall, she originally told police she ran into him by chance when she was shopping there for cauliflower. She told the court that she didn't know how to tell him about what she'd just seen and his daughter was there so she only chatted with him about cauliflower. And after that, she went to a nearby trail and discarded the knife and gloves by shoving them in the snow. A park's employee had previously testified that he found the items later on when the snow melted.

Gurpreet told the court that Bupindipal did not commit the murder because he didn't have the temperament for it. She denied telling Suzanne the life coach that she would do anything to be with him. But she did admit to lying to police about taking the murder weapons but said she did it to protect herself and her family. Finally, the crown asked Gurpreet questions that hinted at the crown's theory. They suggested to her that Bupindipal Gill had left a weightlifting bar in the house for her to use to kill Jagtar. And while Gurpreet struck Jagtar with it several times and wasn't successful, she decided to grab a knife and stab her multiple times including going behind her and slashing her throat. Gurpreet denied all suggestions. Bupindipal's lawyer also questioned her, referencing his earlier testimony that their affair had ended several months before Jagtar's murder.

He suggested that Gurpreet murdered Jagtar in the hopes of being able to be with Bupindipal. Quote, you had a complete emotional breakdown. You were adrift, abandoned and angry and you took it out on Jagtar. Gurpreet denied it, saying that she has no interest in Bupindipal because the intimacy is not there. In closing arguments, the crown told the jury that Bupindipal and Gurpreet were in love and dreamed of being together so they planned and carried out the murder of his wife Jagtar. Even though both told the court the affair had ended several months before Jagtar's murder, the 250 phone calls between them in the month beforehand, including on the day, was proof that the affair was still going strong. And on that day, there were no phone calls between them between 11.45am and 12.36pm. The crown argued that's when Gurpreet Ronald carried out the deadly plan while Bupindipal was out with his daughter. The court was reminded that Gurpreet had to transition from the bar to the knives in order to complete the murder and added that the extent of the injuries spoke to the hatred behind the attack.

Finally, the crown said that Gurpreet Ronald's version of events, slipping in, discovering the body and slipping out, is a fabric of lies. Her DNA was all over the house. The defence lawyer for Bupindipal Gill said that he was guilty of obstruction of justice, but not of first degree murder, which was his actual charge. He said all Bupindipal was guilty of was throwing two small knives, washing his hands and hiding a weight lifting bar in a box of Christmas decorations, but he was not involved in the killing. Bupindipal was just trying to protect himself, quote, sometimes innocent people do stupid things. The defence lawyer for Gurpreet Ronald reiterated that she left without calling 911 because she didn't want to be blamed for a crime she didn't commit. The lawyer rejected the crown's theory that Gurpreet wanted to eliminate Jagtar so she could spend her life with Bupindipal. The court heard that she already had two children of her own and didn't want to take on the responsibility of Bupindipal's three kids too. All Gurpreet reportedly wanted was emotional support and she already had that in Bupindipal, quote, there's no motive for my client to kill Jagtar Gill.

The lawyer added that Gurpreet's husband Jason's testimony about his wife threatening him with knives was unreliable and Suzanne the life coach was just an opportunist who wanted her 15 minutes of fame, quote, Mrs Ronald is on trial for her life. She did not do this. She did not commit this crime. The trial had gone on for nine weeks and had to move to a larger courtroom in the early weeks because Jagtar had a lot of supporters who were there every day. There was also immense public interest with a number of retired OC transport workers attending. Some days people had lined up outside the courtroom for more than an hour just to secure a seat inside. The jury deliberated for six days before returning with a verdict. Bupindipal Gill and Gurpreet Ronald were both found guilty of first degree murder. This meant they received the automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole for 25 years.

When the announcement was made, the fact that neither of them showed any emotion was in stark contrast to the rest of the courtroom who erupted in cheers and applause. Jagtar's parents were observed to be sobbing, still grieving for their daughter but grateful for the positive outcome. After the sentencing, Jagtar's niece Ramandeep Chahal read out the family's victim impact statement on behalf of Jagtar's parents who were in their 70s and didn't speak English. She described the pain and anguish that they have had to endure at their elderly ages, quote, Son, daughters and grandchildren are now haunted by recurring nightmares of the horror that Jagtar suffered. Medication for high blood pressure and post-traumatic stress disorder allows us to sleep for a short time before the relentless images overwhelm us again. Jagtar's children have been robbed of a mother's love and care and we have been devoid of our daughter's love, care and compassion. We are all heartbroken and will always remain so.

Jagtar's parents described her as compassionate, caring and loving with a heart as big as the world. Then their impact statement referred to the two who had been found guilty, quote, 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 Bupindipal and Gurpreet did not have the courage to stand up, take the blame and be truthful. Instead, they made all attempts to deny the truth and escape the consequence. Bupindipal is a waste of flesh and he no longer exists to us. After Bupindipal and Gurpreet were led out of the courtroom, Jagtar's father Ajit Singh led the family in a Sikh prayer outside.

Her sister Harjinder Sidhu told reporters, And now we get justice, thank you jury, they made a good decision. Harjinder's daughter, the niece of Jagtar's who read the victim impact statement, Told reporters that Jagtar was a wonderful woman who was like a mother to her and always gave of herself, quote, Her life on this earth was short and far from perfect. But I believe she got her freedom now, her soul is free and she is ready to go to a better place to be at peace. According to CTV Ottawa, the family were relieved to be able to finally put Jagtar to rest. Her ashes had remained in the funeral home in Ottawa, the family too grief-stricken to think about what to do with them.

But now that there was closure, they wanted to spread the ashes in India, as was Jagtar's wish. But things don't often end the way they're supposed to. In the next month, both Bupindappal and Gurpreet's lawyers announced they were appealing their conviction. Gurpreet's lawyers announced they were appealing on the grounds that the judge should have recused herself from the trial. Gurpreet alleged that Justice Julianne Parfait called her deceitful during a bail hearing and that demonstrated that she was biased against Gurpreet. The appeal was heard in December of 2019. In a shock, unanimous ruling, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ordered a new trial, saying that Justice Parfait erred in not allowing jurors to consider a conviction of second-degree murder. The evidence presented at the trial allowed for the possibility that maybe Jagtar's murder was not premeditated.

And as you know, to be found guilty of first-degree murder, the murder must have been premeditated. Jagtar's niece told CBC News that they were all devastated and were planning to take it to the Supreme Court to appeal the decision, where they would ask for the murder convictions to be restored. Quote, we prepare ourselves for the worst, but we hope for the best. Whatever happens, nothing can bring Jagtar Gill back. She is remembered as a strong and hard-working mother who cared deeply for her family. I'll be sure to update you about what happens with the appeal. Thanks for listening and thanks to Deirdre Bradley for researching this case and suggesting it to me. As well as court documents, this episode relied on the reporting of Laurie Fagan and Laura Glowackie for CBC, Gary Dimick for The Ottawa Citizen and Joanne Schnur from CTV Ottawa. This week's podcast recommendation is The Secret Life of Canada from CBC Podcasts, which tells Canadian history stories in a really engaging and entertaining way.

Their recent episodes have been really topical, like the episode called What's the deal with Blackface, where I learned all about the history of Blackface in Canada. Hosts Leah and Fallon also discuss Indigenous history, LGBTQ history as well as the history of Chinatown and a look into why there isn't a Japan town in Canadian cities too. It's super interesting, so if this interests you too, go and subscribe to The Secret Life of Canada. Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production funded through advertising and direct donations. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell a friend or rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts. This episode of Canadian True Crime was researched by Deirdre Bradley and me. An audio production was by We Talk of Dreams, who also composed the theme song. The host of the Beyond Bizarre True Crime podcast voiced the disclaimer.

I'll be back soon with another Canadian True Crime story. See you then. The Secret Life of Canada