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Teen says murder suspects told him: ‘We did it’

October 19th, 2006 by admin

Teen says murder suspects told him: ‘We did it’
Youths charged in 2005 slaying of Sikhs intended to ‘jump’ someone, trial told

ROBERT MATAS

With a report from Rod Mickleburgh

NEW WESTMINSTER — The teenager’s testimony sent a shudder through the courtroom here yesterday.

“I heard banging and screaming,” Tyler Rankin, 18, testified during the first day of the trial of two youths charged with murder, assault and robbery in the deaths of two elderly Sikhs who were attacked on successive days.

Mr. Rankin said he could not understand the chilling words he heard. “They were in a different kind of language. It sounded East Indian.”

He ran away but saw his two friends shortly afterward. They told him: “We did it.”

He asked what happened. “We have money,” they replied, according to his testimony.

Later that day, Mr. Rankin said he saw them with about $200 in cash and a wallet, he told the court.

Mewa Singh Bains, 82, and Shingara Singh Thandi, 79, died after they were beaten and robbed in separate incidents in Surrey’s Bear Creek Park in the summer of 2005.

The violence horrified the local Sikh community, which feared that the savage assaults may have been racially motivated. More than 800 Indo-Canadians attended an emotional candlelight vigil in the park to mourn the two victims, who were quietly living out their days caring for their many grandchildren and trying to stay fit.

The accused youths, who were 13 and 15 when the attacks occurred, cannot be identified in the media.

Mr. Rankin told the court he had been hanging out with a group of friends in the park on July 18, 2005. They had the idea of going to fight with people “and jump [them] for money,” he said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

The two youths in the prisoner’s dock had gone into the park’s washroom to look for someone to “jump,” he continued, while he stayed outside. They did not tell him what happened inside, he stated.

Outside the court, prosecutor Kris Pechet said the Crown alleges that the two senior citizens were beaten and robbed. The beating of Mr. Bains on July 18 was not as severe as the attack the following day on Mr. Thandi.

Mr. Bains subsequently died in hospital after a stroke and not as a direct result of the assault.

The youths face charges of aggravated assault and robbery in connection with that incident.

However, the Crown alleges that Mr. Thandi died from injuries suffered during the beating the next day, July 19, and the two youths have been charged with second-degree murder over his death.

Kuwant Bains was in the park with her father-in-law, Mewa Singh Bains, and their two children on the day Mr. Bains was attacked.

Her father-in-law had told the family he was going to the washroom and would be back in 15 or 20 minutes, Ms. Bains said in an interview.

Yesterday, she listened intently to the testimony in the courtroom.

At the end of the day’s testmony, she said: “It was too difficult. It was so sad.”

Jhalman Thandi said his family has gone through “a very bad time” since his father died.

“We lost a family member, and he was completely innocent,” Mr. Thandi said.

About 10 friends and family members were in court yesterday for the emotional trial.

Mr. Thandi said that he came looking for some sign of remorse among the acccused. He looked into the faces of the youths as they entered the court and thought they did not appear to be sorry for what had happened.

“This is very hard for us,” he said. Nevertheless, he expected someone from the family to attend every day for the anticipated three-week proceedings at the New Westminster courthouse.

Mr. Thandi said the family was also hoping some members of the community would also attend to lend their support.

Earlier, the court heard from an RCMP forensic expert who said one of the beatings was so severe she found pieces of dentures in the washroom and large splotches of blood on the walls.

A female friend of the two accused, when she asked why they attacked the old men, testified that one of them told her “we needed money.”

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