Murder trial of former B.C. lawyer concludes, decision to be given in Kamloops

VANCOUVER — The first-degree murder trial of a former Kamloops, B.C., lawyer accused of killing his client has concluded at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Rogelio ‘Butch’ Bagabuyo is accused of killing Mohd Abdullah, a lecturer at Thompson Rivers University, on March 11, 2022.

Justice Kathleen Ker told the court on Thursday, after closing arguments and rebuttals had concluded, that she felt it was appropriate that the decision be given in Kamloops, where Abdullah was killed.

The trial heard that Abdullah hired the then-lawyer in 2016 and they conspired to hide money during Abdullah’s separation from his wife, but Bagabuyo spent more than $780,000 syphoned to him.

Crown prosecutor Ann Katrine Saettler said in closing arguments that the accused methodically planned the murder for more than a week after he realized he would no longer be able to fool Abdullah, who was getting increasingly impatient about getting his money back.

Defence lawyer Mark Swartz said the death was “unexpected” and while his client admits to killing Abdullah at his office, it was manslaughter.

Bagabuyo was arrested on March 18, 2022, the day after the body was discovered inside a tote by the grandson of an unsuspecting friend who he had enlisted to rent a van and help find a place to bury the tote.

Bagabuyo was initially charged with indignity to human remains, then charged more than a year later with first-degree murder.

The B.C. Law Society says he’s no longer a lawyer.

Bagabuyo has been out on bail since July 12, 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2025.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press