Shooter's family acquitted of covering up teen's death

Two family members of a man who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a Surrey teen were acquitted Monday of helping the killer cover up the crime.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk found Gurvinder Singh Deo, the brother of Harjot Singh Deo, and Talwinder Singh Khun Khun, a member of Deo's extended family, not guilty of being accessories after the fact in the manslaughter of Bhavkiran (Kiran) Dhesi.

In February, Harjot Deo, a former boyfriend of the victim, had pleaded guilty to the August 2017 manslaughter of the 19-yearold victim. He had initially been charged with second-degree murder.

Court heard that Deo had accidentally shot the victim in Deo's family home on 147th Street in Surrey after she had travelled to the home in a BMW.

The body of the victim, who was shot in Deo's bedroom, was wrapped in a comforter and placed in the trunk of the BMW, and then driven to a location on 186 B Street, where the vehicle was set on fire.

A bloody mattress was later taken from the Deo family home to a location in Surrey and also burned.

At the trial of Gurvinder Deo and Khun Khun, the Crown's theory was that after Harjot Deo shot Dhesi, he phoned a cousin who lived nearby. A flurry of communications then occurred among a select group of six individuals.

According to the Crown, the calls set in motion a chain of events that amounted to the accused assisting Harjot Deo in covering up the killing of Dhesi.

Harjot Deo, who is facing a sentencing hearing Wednesday, undertook several acts with the assistance of others.

The evidence the Crown used to make its case included security camera footage from a residence across the street from the Deo home that was of a generally poor quality, traffic camera footage and photos, and cellphone evidence including cellphone sites. The defence argued there was no evidence to show the accused gained any knowledge of the manslaughter.

In reaching her verdict, the judge found the Crown had not proven that the only reasonable inference was that the accused were assisting Harjot Deo to cover up the crime.