Court evidence sheds new light on contract-killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik

Global News has obtained cardinal tribunal exhibits from the proceedings of the 2 men who pleaded blameworthy past week to the 2022 contract killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik.

The grounds offers caller penetration into the events surrounding the sidesplitting of 1 of the men charged and acquitted successful the 1965 Air India bombing.

Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were primitively charged with first-degree murder but pleaded blameworthy to the lesser complaint of second-degree murder. An agreed connection of facts included successful the plea revealed the brace had been paid to termination Malik.

Left unclear by the plea woody is the motive and the mastermind down the killing.

Malik remained a polarizing fig successful Canada until his death.

He and co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri made planetary headlines aft they were acquitted of wide execution successful 2005, 2 decades aft the Air India bombings that killed 331 people, mostly from the Vancouver and Toronto areas.

The newly-released grounds includes information and video and postulation camera images tracing the question of Malik’s killers connected July 13 and July 14, the time of the murder.

In 1 video, the brace are captured leaving a rental suite the time earlier the murder, wearing distinctive covering that was aboriginal seized by police.

Lopez was dressed successful a t-shirt bearing the publication “Just bash it,” portion Fox wore agleam reddish runners and carried a Puma backpack.

At the time, the killers were connected their mode to walk 17 minutes scoping retired the tract wherever they would aboriginal sprout Malik to death.

The adjacent morning, July 14, 2022, Malik was changeable 7 times, astir bullets hitting him successful the caput and neck, portion sitting successful the driver’s spot of his Tesla successful beforehand of his Surrey business.

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Fox and Lopez past fled successful a stolen achromatic Honda CRV, earlier dumping and torching the getaway vehicle.

Nearly 2 weeks later, however, constabulary seized a upland of grounds successful the killers’ rental suite, wrong the Puma backpack

According to the agreed connection of facts entered successful court, the 2 men’s DNA was recovered connected 2 masks and a glove.

Bullet casings recovered adjacent to Malik’s conveyance were traced to 2 handguns seized by police.

Police besides recovered much than $16,000 successful currency astatine Lopez’ home.

The existent terms the men were paid to termination Malik has ne'er been revealed.

Fox and Lopez’s are owed to look successful tribunal again connected Thursday via video nexus to acceptable a day for their sentencing hearings.

The 2 men volition beryllium sentenced separately aft they were progressive successful a convulsive courtroom brawl with 1 different aft pleading blameworthy past week.

— with files from Rumina Daya