Recaldo Liburd sobbed in a Newmarket, Ont., courtroom as Justice Michelle Fuerst asked if the Vaughan man understood that pleading guilty meant he was giving up his right to a trial.
After calling a brief recess, Liburd returned to the courtroom with his lawyer and told the judge he wanted to proceed. Liburd then pleaded guilty to two counts of indignity to a dead body in relation to the murders of Markham couple Quoc Tran and Kristy Nguyen.
According to an agreed statement of fact read out in court, Tran, 37, and his girlfriend Nguyen, 25, were reported missing on Sept. 19, 2021, by Tran’s brother who said the couple failed to show up for a dinner the night before.
Police traced Kristy Nguyen’s vehicle to 111 Zenway Blvd. in the City of Vaughan, where video surveillance captured Tran and Nguyen walking towards Unit 6, Ultra Garden Supply at 5:19 p.m. the day prior, Sept. 18.
Minutes later, the couple was seen walking back towards the vehicle. The man police allege murdered the couple, Phuong Tan Nguyen, is also seen on camera.
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The couple is then seen entering Unit 6 around 5:30 p.m. but is never seen leaving the unit again. It’s believed Tran and Nguyen were murdered there that night.
Phuong Tan Nguyen is later seen in the loading bay of Ultra Garden Supply and ultimately seen leaving at 11:59 p.m. At about 10:58 p.m., Liburd admits he drove a transport truck to 111 Zenway Blvd., where he reversed into the loading dock. At about 11:33 p.m., Liburd admits he loaded a skid onto the truck and drove to 205 Trade Valley Drive just four kilometres away.
It’s there that Liburd admits he disposed of the bodies in a commercial dumpster bin. Police later learned that two dumpsters were emptied on Sept. 24, 2021, and may have been taken to a landfill in Sarnia, Michigan or both.
An employee at Ultra Garden Supply told police on Sept. 20 that a skid previously covered in sod was gone. It’s believed the skid was used to transport the bodies. Phuong Tan Nguyen who is wanted for two counts of first-degree murder remains at large.
The facts state that on Sept. 23, police located blood inside Unit 6 associated with Kristy Ngyuyen. On Sept. 29, Tran’s decomposing body, wrapped in black and clear plastic, was located at the Twin Creeks Landfill and Environmental Centre in Watford, Ont. Kristy Nguyen’s body has never been recovered.
Liburd admits Phuong Tan Nguyen called him to pick something up and the items were packaged in black and clear plastic on a skid but he didn’t make inquiries about what it was despite the fact his suspicions were aroused. The bodies were ultimately put in dumpster bins and Liburd admits he was willfully blind to disposing of them.
Liburd also admits it took more time to dispose of the bodies than it did to load them into the truck.
Two other counts of accessory after the fact to murder are expected to be withdrawn at the next court date. Liburd remains out on bail and will return to court in March via Zoom when a date for sentencing will be set.
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