Image Credit: Global BC

By Dylana Kneeshaw

FIRST-DEGREE MURDER TRIAL

Bloodstain pattern analysis expert testifies in murder trial for former Kamloops lawyer accused of killing client

Jun 4, 2025 | 5:04 PM

VANCOUVER — An expert in bloodstain pattern analysis testified out of BC Supreme Court in Vancouver Wednesday (June 4) in the first-degree murder trial of a Kamloops lawyer accused in the death of his client.

Butch Bagabuyo is charged with one count of first-degree murder, related to the 2022 homicide of Mohd Abdullah, who was a lecturer at Thompson Rivers University.

The trial has spanned several weeks, with Crown prosecution learning into heavy detail analysis and commentary from witnesses. Wednesday saw key testimony about the murder scene.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Thomas Watts, an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis, spent most of Wednesday answering questions about the blood found in Butch Bagabuyo’s law office.

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Watts spoke to several photos of the scene, describing what appeared to be deposits of blood — also referred to as ‘blood stains’ — on a door inside the law office, blood stains on steps at the top of the office stairwell and blood spatter stains on a wall. The officer noted spatter stains were identified near a desk in the office.

‘Spatter’ is an umbrella term used to refer to some kind of force being involved with how the blood deposits landed.

Crown questions saw Watts outline the extent of his education in the field and the kind of analysis work he conducts. Prosecutors also asked the officer about what sort of situations, including types of force or actions, blood spatter analysis could provide expert comment on.

Defense lawyer Mark Swartz then followed up by asking Watts about the difference between analyzing a scene using photos and attending in person. In this case, Watts conducted his initial analysis using photographs he was given of the scene.

Swartz asked if the angle a picture was taken at could impact his assessment, and Watts confirmed in some cases the angle of a photograph could have an effect on his analysis when trying to ascertain distance and size of the scene and blood deposits.

It’s alleged Mohd Abdullah died of multiple stab wounds. Prosecutors claim the killing took place at Bagabuyo’s downtown Kamloops law office on March 11, 2022, during a pre-scheduled meeting between Bagabuyo and Abdullah over an unresolved financial matter.

Court previously heard Abdullah was trying to get back more than $700,000 from Bagabuyo after he and his lawyer moved the money in an attempt to hide it from his divorce settlement several years prior. Crown’s opening statements note that a forensic accountant is expected to testify that Abdullah’s funds, which were also part of his retirement savings, are now gone after being spent on Bagabuyo’s personal living expenses.

Proceedings will continue out of Vancouver for the rest of June, while testimony from the pathologist who conducted the victim’s autopsy is expected by the end of this week.