Three Other Men Also Charged With Murdering Kulwinder Kaur Gill!
ABBOTSFORD -The husband of the murdered Abbotsford Indo-Canadian woman who was killed in a hit-and-run case four years ago is one of four people charged in connection to her death, police announced Monday.
Kulwinder Kaur Gill, 42, was walking down Townshipline Road in Abbotsford with her husband Iqbal Singh Gill on April 27, 2009, when the mother of two was struck by a vehicle that fled, said Kevin Hackett, lead officer for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, reported CTV news.
An ambulance was called but paramedics pronounced her dead on the scene.
Evidence retrieved early on in the investigation into Gill’s death revealed foul play and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team took on the case, Hackett said.
Gill, 49, Gurpreet Singh Atwal, 26, and Jaspreet Singh Sohi, 28, now face first-degree murder charges, said IHIT spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Pound.
Sukhpal Singh Johal, a 26-year-old Surrey man, has also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact, Pound said.
Gill, Sohi and Johal were expected to appear in court Monday, while Atwal was to appear via video conferencing.
“As this matter is now before the courts I am unable to speak directly to the motive or discuss any evidence related to the investigation but I can say it appears that this was well planned and deliberate,” Hackett said.
He thanked Gill’s family for their patience with the four-year investigation.
“We are sorry for your loss,” Hackett said. “I understand that the passing years have been very difficult; this has been compounded by the fact that we were unable to provide details regarding the progress of the investigation until very recently.”
Officers responding to the accident were flagged down by her husband, who led them to a water-filled ditch where Gill had been thrown by the impact.
Police seized a suspect vehicle with signs of damage dumped on acreage several blocks away.
The incident was reported as a hit-and-run accident at the time and no further details have ever been publicly released to indicate that foul play was suspected, reported Surrey Leader.
Few details about the crime were released during a press conference held Monday at the Abbotsford Police Department (APD) with members of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
APD Deputy Chief Rick Lucy said local police had been to the Gill home on one occasion before Kulwinder’s death. The APD received a hang-up 911 call in February 2006 and, when they investigated, they found that a verbal altercation had occurred between the couple, Lucy said.
Iqbal currently has another set of charges before the courts in connection with a grow-op allegedly found by police in a home he owned with two others on Siskin Drive in Abbotsford.
The property was busted in March 2011, and a two-storey garage was allegedly found to contain more than 1,000 marijuana plants. Also allegedly found on the property were a handgun, a submachine gun, an assault rifle, ammunition, and $4,000 cash.
Iqbal was charged with production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, unauthorized possession of a firearm, fraudulently consuming electricity or gas, and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm without a licence.
Two other men, ages 19 and 23, were also charged. The trio are next due to appear in Abbotsford provincial court on the matter in September.
That property became the subject of a civil forfeiture claim by the provincial government. The home has since been sold to an unrelated party in foreclosure proceedings.
The other three suspects in the homicide also have criminal records.
According to the provincial court database, Atwal has prior convictions – all in Abbotsford – for carrying a concealed weapon, assault, breach of probation, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and possessing a restricted firearm.
Sohi has prior convictions for trafficking in a controlled substance, fear of injury by another person, driving while prohibited, and breach of his bail conditions.
Johal’s only conviction is for assault with a weapon, related to an incident in Delta in June 2011, reported the Surrey Leader.
