Murder charge laid in Burnaby cold case

Burnaby RCMP say murder charges have been laid in the death of a 26-year-old man whose body was found in a car almost 20 years ago.

Jaswant Singh Gill, aged 40, of Vancouver, has been charged with the first-degree murder of Thomas Eldon Akerman, Cpl. Sharon Toor saidon Thursday morning.

Toor said Akerman was shot outside Bonsor Recreation Centre on Dec. 23, 1994, but releasedfew other details about the incident.

Gill is already charged with thesecond-degree murder of his wife, 33-year-old Gurpreet Gill in 2006, but Toor saidthe two cases are not otherwiserelated.

Gurpreet was married to Jaswant in an arranged marriage in 2000. Her family reported her missing seven years ago, but her remains were only identified last month with the help of the Coroners Service in Richmond.

Police say they arrested Gill who they call a "violent predator" on Feb. 16 and he is being held in custody awaiting trial.