Family relieved by guilty verdict in Jagtar Gill murder trial
Posted Jul 20, 2016 10:08:55 AM.
Last Updated Jul 21, 2016 06:41:04 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — Two guilty verdicts have meant relief for the family of murdered Barrhaven mother Jagtar Gill, who cheered and applauded in the courtroom before weeping and embracing each other outside.
Bhupinderpal Gill, Jagtar’s husband, and Gurpreet Ronald, Bhupinderpal’s former lover, were found guilty by a jury, Wednesday, after five days of deliberations.
“At last, I am pleased that justice has been met,” said Ramandeep Chahal, Jagtar’s niece, as she read from a prepared statement outside the courthouse. “We hope that the soul of my dear aunt, Jagtar, will now rest in peace.”
In court, Chahal read a victim impact statement, that left nothing to the imagination about the hurt her family feels over the loss of Jagtar, and the way she feels about Jagtar’s killers.
“There is no closure. There is no moving on,” Chahal told the court.
“We do not want to waste any more energy worrying, talking or even thinking about what a waste of flesh he is,” Chahal said of Bhupinderpal Gill, while pointedly looking over at the prisoners’ box.
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Jagtar Gill, 43, was found dead in her home on January 29, 2014 by her husband and teenage daughter; the same day as the couple’s 17th wedding anniversary.
Gill and Ronald were sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years. Neither had anything to say in court before the judge handed down the automatic sentence.
Jagtar Gill’s father led his family in a prayer outside the courthouse, as his family gave thanks for the trial’s outcome.
Inside cell blocks, Postmedia reports Bhupinderpal Gill is “devastated,” and maintained his innocence to his lawyer after the verdict.
Ronald’s lawyer tells the paper, she was confused by the jury’s decision, disappointed and exhausted.
Bhupinderpal Gill’s lawyer says they plan to appeal his conviction. Ronald has not decided.
