Nearly three years after the deaths of Arnold and Joanne De Jong shocked the quiet city ofAbbotsford, a court inCanadahas formally opened the trial of three men accused of the double murder.

The accused — Gurkaran Singh, Abhijeet Singh and Khushveer Singh Toor — have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of first-degree murder. The elderly couple were found dead in their Abbotsford home on May 9, 2022, a day after hosting a family gathering, when relatives became concerned after being unable to reach them by phone.

Prosecutors told the court that the accused had prior links to the victims through a cleaning business operated by Abhijeet Singh, which had carried out work at the De Jongs’ home in 2021 and again shortly before their deaths. According to the Crown, the murders were motivated by mounting debt, financial stress and greed.

Court testimony revealed that Gurkaran Singh had arrived in Canada on a student visa less than a month before the killings. Investigators allege that shortly after the deaths, cheques worth $3,601 each were deposited into the bank accounts of two of the accused, purportedly signed by Joanne De Jong and marked as payments for cleaning services.

Police officers described a disturbing crime scene. Arnold De Jong was found in a bedroom with his hands and feet bound, duct tape covering his nose and mouth. Joanne De Jong was discovered in another bedroom with visible injuries. A pathologist is expected to testify that Arnold died of asphyxiation, while Joanne died from sharp and blunt force trauma.

The prosecution has indicated the trial will run for about 40 days and feature testimony from at least 24 witnesses. The case is expected to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence, including fingerprints, DNA, cellphone data, banking records and other electronic material that prosecutors say link the accused to the killings.

The trial continues.