VANCOUVER — The Crown attorney in the first-degree murder trial of a former Kamloops lawyer says the accused methodically planned the murder of his client for more than a week.
Ann Katrine Saettler told a B.C. Supreme Court judge in Vancouver that Rogelio ‘Butch’ Bagabuyo wrote a “planning note” that reminded him to bag everything after, not to bring his mobile phone or E-watch, turn off his GPS and throw his garbage out.
Bagabuyo is accused of first-degree murder in the March 11, 2022, killing of his client Mohd Abdullah, a lecturer at Thompson Rivers University.
The court heard earlier that in 2016 Abdullah hired Bagabuyo and they conspired to hide “large sums of money” during Abdullah’s separation from his wife, but Bagabuyo later spent the cash.
On her second day of closing arguments, Saettler said the Crown’s theory is that Bagabuyo decided he needed to kill Abdullah after his client had demanded the cash back, and she showed a video of the accused buying a tote from Home Depot matching the one that held Abdullah’s body inside.
Bagabuyo’s lawyer Mark Swartz has not yet made his closing arguments in the trial, but confirmed to the judge on Monday that his client admits that he killed Abdullah but asserts it was manslaughter.
When asked by the judge for clarity, Swartz confirmed again Tuesday that his client agrees the murder happened at the law office.
Saettler said Bagabuyo delayed the return of Abdullah’s money for several years, fabricating reasons such as the need to set up shell corporations or concerns about the Canadian Revenue Agency.
Abdullah eventually grew impatient about getting his money back, Saettler said Monday, citing emails and a 2021 audio recording where Abdullah pressed Bagabuyo about the money.
The Crown’s theory is that Bagabuyo eventually decided “he would not be able to continue to fool Mr. Abdullah much longer” and devised the plan, the court heard.
Saettler said he stabbed Abdullah to death on March 11, 2022, when he arrived for a meeting at the law office, which was under restoration after a fire.
She said he purchased a propane tank and other items he planned to use to dispose of the body, including a hacksaw, but his plans for disposal changed when hewas contacted by police on March 15 about Abdullah being missing.
He sought the help of an unsuspecting neighbour, who he convinced to rent a van and help him dispose of the tote where he put the body, Saettler said.
Bagabuyo was arrested on March 18, 2022, the day after the body was discovered inside the tote by the neighbour’sgrandson.
He was initially charged with indignity to human remains on March 18, 2022, then charged more than a year later with first-degree murder. He’s been out on bail since July 12, 2023.
Bagabuyo attended court on Tuesday wearing a dark pinstriped suit and blue dress shirt and tie.
The B.C. Law Society says Bagabuyo is no longer a practising lawyer and a custodian was appointed to wind up his legal practice in May 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press
