KAMLOOPS — A former Kamloops, B.C., lawyer who stole almost $800,000 from a client, stabbed him to death then smuggled the body out of his office in a plastic tote has been convicted of first-degree murder.
Rogelio “Butch” Bagabuyo was accused of killing of Mohd Abdullah, a lecturer at Thompson Rivers University, on March 11, 2022.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker says in a ruling handed down in Kamloops that she has no doubt the murder was planned and deliberate, and “it defies logic, common sense and human experience” that the stabbing of Abdullah could have been spontaneous.
The trial heard that Abdullah hired Bagabuyo in 2016 and they conspired to hide money during Abdullah’s separation from his wife, but Bagabuyo spent more than $780,000 of the money.
Crown prosecutor Ann Katrine Saettler had said in closing arguments that Bagabuyo methodically planned the murder for more than a week after realizing he would no longer be able to fool Abdullah, who was increasingly impatient about getting his money back.
Defence lawyer Mark Swartz had said the death was “unexpected” and while his client admitted killing Abdullah at his office, it was manslaughter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.
The Canadian Press
