The family of Arnold and Joanne De Jong said they felt blindsided by a court ruling Monday that could allow the three men who killed the Abbotsford couple in 2022 to apply for early parole.

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About 60 people were at the Abbotsford courthouse for what they believed would be a short sentencing hearing. Many had taken time off work, with some driving from Vancouver and Seattle to attend.

Within minutes, the hearing was over, as a judge said a section of the Criminal Code that restricts people who commit multiple murders from applying for early parole under the “faint-hope” clause is unconstitutional.

Justice Brenda Brown ruled that the automatic sentence in cases of first-degree murder involving multiple murders — life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years — breaches a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteeing against cruel and unusual punishment.

There were gasps and murmuring in the courtroom at the decision, which was followed by a lengthy discussion to try to set a date for more arguments and an eventual sentencing date. The judge set sentencing for Feb. 22., 2027 — almost a year after trial began and nine months after the men — Khushveer Toor, Gurkaran Singh and Abhijeet Singh, all in their 20s — were each found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

Lawyers for both prosecution and defence are to make submissions before the final sentencing hearing as to whether the infringement on Charter rights can be justified. Until then, it is unclear if the men will be allowed the chance to apply for early parole in 15 years.

Outside court, the De Jong family reacted with shock and anger.

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“This is Canada. How does this happen here?” said daughter Sandra Barthel. She questioned why the Charter seems to provide more protections to two murderers who are not Canadian citizens than it does to victims of crime, referring to two of the killers who are in the country on student visas.

“Our charter should be protecting us as victims. It should not be protecting criminals. If you murder people, spending 25 years in jail is due justice and due process. I understand restoration. I understand people healing and becoming better people, but that doesn’t underestimate the need for paying the consequence,” said Barthel.

“Our parents are gone. They didn’t deserve this. This was premeditated. It was planned. It was cruel. And now they want hope that after 15 years it will just go away and that they can live new lives. That’s not fair.”

In May 2022, Arnold, 77, was found dead in his bed with duct tape wrapped around his nose and mouth. It was later determined he died of asphyxiation. Joanne, 76, was found in her bed surrounded by blood. She died of sharp and blunt force trauma.

During an eight-week trial, prosecutor Dorothy Tsui argued the killers were motivated by “debt, financial pressure and greed.”

Abhijeet Singh operated a company that had cleaned the roofs and gutters of the couple’s Abbotsford home. Toor and Gurkaran Singh, an international student who arrived in Canada less than a month before the murders, lived with Abhijeet Singh and did work for his cleaning company.

Defence lawyers argued the deaths were part of a robbery gone wrong. But the judge rejected those arguments and found all three guilty.

“In my view, three persons were needed to participate in the home invasion and murders for them to be carried out in the way that they were,” said Brown.

After the murders, the men tried to pay off debts and send money to family and friends using the De Jongs’ Visa cards and cheques.

During trial, prosecutor William Dorsey showed a video he said was taken by one of the men three months after the killings, showing two of them driving around with the bat in their car, showcasing the weapon. The prosecutor’s voice cracked as he said the men bound Joanne in her bed and beat her with the bat, suggesting a screwdriver was used to slash her throat, before they killed Arnold in his bed by wrapping his face in duct tape.

Speaking Monday, daughter Heather Hoogland said the family would continue to fight for justice as they wait for the sentencing hearing.

“We’re going to stand up, and we’re going to take it, and we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight for our parents. That’s the way my mom and dad taught us,” she said.

gluymes@postmedia.com