Rogelio "Butch" Bagabuyo is seen leaving the Kamloops courthouse with his lawyer, Mark Swartz, on April 15, 2025.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The first step on the path that lead to Mohd Abdullah's death was his own efforts to hide his money from his ex-wife, a BC Supreme Court was told.

A friend of Abdullah's told the court yesterday that he feared that he and his lawyer could be imprisoned if they were found out.

"He said please don't say anything because I will go to jail and so will Butch, my lawyer," Angela Milanese said, May 1.

Rogelio "Butch" Bagabuyo is accused of first-degree murder in Abdullah's death. The Crown's case is expected to include evidence showing not only did Bagabuyo hide nearly $800,000 of Abdullah's money in 2016, but that he spent it all before Abdullah came asking for its return.

READ MORE: Kelowna pastor, Harvest Church deny sexual abuse lawsuits, threaten to sue for defamation

Milanese told the court of a conversation she had with Abdullah years before his death in which he was "very flustered and upset." Confused as to why Abdullah's then-wife hadn't been served legal papers two years after the divorce proceedings began, she suggested Abdullah see two lawyers she knew.

Florentina Lalata, left, with Mohd Abdullah and their daughter Sarah Jeet Lalata-Buco.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Sarah Jeet Lalata-Buco

"I can't, I've given all my money to my lawyer," she recalled him saying. 

She asked how much, and he told her to guess, according to Milanese.

"To me a lot would be $100,000," she said, but the amount was much higher.

READ MORE: Murder victim's last movements highlight second week of Kamloops trial

"All I could think was, 'Oh my God, Mohd. What have you done,'" she said. "I knew right there and then something underhanded was going on."

Bagabuyo's lawyer raised an email Abdullah sent Milanese in September 2017. In it, Abdullah said his then-wife was "worse than a leech." Lawyer Mark Swartz asked if she was financially taking advantage of Abdullah.

"No, I think he just wanted her to leave the house so he could have a life of peace and quiet again. Never once did he mention to me she was taking financial advantage," Milanese said.

Adbullah's ex-wife would later die through Medical Assistance in Dying in 2019, and Bagabuyo allegedly told him to wait another two years before pulling the money. It was supposedly an effort to avoid the possibility her estate would come after the nearly $800,000 Abdullah entrusted to his lawyer.

Though evidence specifically detailing where the money went has not been heard yet, both the Crown and a separate civil lawsuit allege Bagabuyo used all of it for his own purposes.

Crown lawyers allege Abdullah was meeting Bagabuyo to again discuss the return of his money when he was killed, followed by Bagabuyo's alleged failed attempts to bury the body somewhere outside Kamloops.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025