Rogelio "Butch" Bagabuyo seen leaving the Kamloops courthouse on April 17, 2025.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Mohd Abdullah's family is taking his alleged killer to court over nearly $800,000 the victim entrusted to him.

The lawsuit filed by Abdullah's estate gives some insight into where Kamloops lawyer Rogelio "Butch" Bagabuyo spent the money before he allegedly killed Abdullah in March 2022.

Based on "negligent advice," Bagabuyo helped Abdullah hide the money amid a divorce in 2016. Instead of leaving it in the trust account, Bagabuyo put it toward his own home, an account in his mother's name and his own investment company, according to the lawsuit filed last year.

READ MORE: Money was the motive in Kamloops murder trial: Crown

Bagabuyo is facing an ongoing first-degree murder trial in which prosecutors allege the lawyer killed Abdullah when he came asking for the money back.

A forensic accountant is expected to take the witness stand during the ten-week murder trial bringing evidence to show where the money was spent, but the Crown has so far not detailed those allegations beyond claiming it was used for Bagabuyo's "living expenses."

Administrator for Abdullah's estate Jana Keeley said the money wasn't transferred all at once. It took more than a year, beginning in February 2016 and ending a month before his divorce file was opened at the Kamloops courthouse, according to court records.

READ MORE: Kamloops murder trial soon heads to Vancouver, Crown won't say why

Family law files are sealed from the public, so it's not clear whether the court or Abdullah's ex-wife Cylynne Edgelow were aware of the nearly $800,000 he gave to Bagabuyo.

The lawsuit doesn't claim any of the money is owed to Edgelow or her estate.

During the murder trial, Crown lawyers said Edgelow died in 2019 and Bagabuyo allegedly advised Abdullah to wait two years before returning the money in case her estate comes for it.

In addition to seeking restitution and damages for allegedly spending his money, Abdullah's estate also seeks damages specifically for his widow Elisabeth Northy Sumartha.

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

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Sarah Jeet Lalata-Buco

The estate claims Abdullah was a "devoted spouse" who provided care, companionship and assistance to Sumartha, in addition to an accumulation of "wealth and property for her eventual benefit."

The civil claim seeks family compensation damages against Bagabuyo for Abdullah's "wrongful death."

Bagabuyo and his mother, Linda Dharamdas Chauhan, denied the allegations made by Abdullah's estate and that damages are owed. Claims made in the lawsuit haven't been proven in court.

In his ongoing criminal trial before a Supreme Court judge, Bagabuyo is accused of planning and carrying out Abdullah's murder in March 2022. It's scheduled for several more weeks until June 20.

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