Jury convicts two men of first-degree murder in fatal 2022 Whistler shooting

Scene of fatal Whistler shooting on July 24, 2022 Photo by Submitted photo

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A B.C. Supreme Court jury has convicted two men of a brazen daylight double murder outside Whistler’s Sundial Hotel in July 2022.

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The jurors deliberated for just two hours before finding Gursimran Sahota, 28, and Tanvir Khakh, 24, guilty of all charges in the murders of Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill in the early afternoon of July 22, a busy sunny Sunday in the resort town.

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While Crown prosecutor Don Montrichard led no evidence as to motive, he said in closing submissions Wednesday that Dhaliwal, who was shot in the head several times, appeared to be the target of the masked gunmen. Gill was shot twice with just one bullet proving fatal.

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Sahota was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in Dhaliwal’s death, and a second-degree count for Gill’s death. Khakh was convicted only of the first-degree murder of Dhaliwal. Justice Miriam Gropper had acquitted him on a second first-degree count earlier in the week over a lack of evidence of any intention to kill Gill.

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It was a dramatic scene in courtroom 67 just after 7:30 p.m. when the jury entered. Family members of victims were in the public gallery. Extra sheriffs were present. All the lights in the building’s hallways were off with rain streaming down the glass ceiling and walls.

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After the guilty verdicts, Gropper asked the jurors to consider whether they wanted to make a recommendation on Sahota’s minimum parole ineligibility period on the second-degree count. They deliberated for another 15 minutes and came back in to tell Gropper they believed he should serve 20 years minimum.

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On the first-degree murder of Dhaliwal, both men will get a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

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Sahota and Khakh didn’t appear upset by the convictions. They had chatted with each other throughout the trial, even appearing to laugh at times, and hugged their lawyers before they were led away.

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Both will appear next month to fix a date for sentencing.

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Outside the courtroom, Montrichard told Postmedia that he was happy for Gill and Dhaliwal’s families.

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“I want to thank the jury and the judge for their time and their consideration. We always thought it was this would be the result, obviously, and we’re just happy for both families,” he said.

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Meninder Dhaliwal Photo by BC-CFSEU /PNG

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The prosecution’s case relied heavily on CCTV footage from the hotel which captured the shooters arriving and loitering around for six minutes until Dhaliwal, Gill and others exhibited the lobby of the boutique hotel. Then they started shooting, leaving both victims bleeding on the pavement outside.

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Montrichard asked jurors to focus on details of the black clothing and shoes worn by the killers, which he said matched those Sahota and Khakh were wearing when arrested with three others in a southbound black Chrysler 200 in Squamish less than an hour later.