Jury deliberates fate of husband who allegedly orchestrated wife’s murder

Theepa Seevaratnam was a married mother to two daughters and had a seemingly good life. But on March 13, 2020, around 9:40 am, the 38-year-old was shot multiple times and died in the front foyer of the family’s Scarborough, Ont., home.

The shooter was a man who rang the doorbell, carrying a brown box, looking for her signature. Theepa’s mother, Leelavathi Seevaratnam answered the door and was also shot but she survived.

A jury is now deliberating the fate of Theepa Seevaratnam’s husband of 18 years, Vijendran Balasubramaniam, charged with conspiracy to commit murder and First Degree Murder.

Steadley Kerr, Gary Samuel and Ashley Owen are also each charged with conspiracy to commit the murder of Theepa Seevaratnam.

The Crown alleges that Balasubramaniam hired Kerr as a hitman to kill his wife. Kerr is also charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Samuel, the jury was told, was Kerr’s friend whom he recruited to be the getaway driver and accomplice in the murder. The Crown alleges the two developed a plan to rent a car to go to and from the murder scene and use a delivery box as a ruse to gain entry into the home. Samuel is also facing a charge of first-degree murder.

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Ashley Owen, the mother of Kerr’s child is also charged with being an accessory or providing assistance to Kerr following the murder. The Crown’s position is that she acted as an intermediary between Balasubramanian and Kerr and helped facilitate the planning of the murder and had full knowledge of what was to occur.

The Crown’s theory is that Balasubramaniam, who was controlling and at times abusive, was having an affair with Thivva Sivakumar, Theepa’s younger cousin who lived in Norway.

“Her (Theepa’s) life ultimately ended tragically with murder. A murder that I say, and that evidence demonstrates, was orchestrated by the man whom she was to have the most trust in — her husband, Mr. Balasubramaniam,” deputy Crown prosecutor Sylvana Capogreco told the jury in her closing address.

At trial, video surveillance was playing showing a black Chevy Cruze that Samuel had rented parked on Murray Avenue where Seevaratnam lived. Video tracked the car driving to Owen’s apartment building where it’s alleged Kerr went to change his clothes and hide his gun. The car is then tracked to a shopping plaza where Balasubramaniam owned a convenience store on Eglinton Avenue near Markham Road.

There were also phone records which showed that Owen and Balasubramaniam started texting and talking to one another a month prior to the murder, before Balasubramaniam began communicating directly with Kerr.

Days before the murder, Balasubramaniam withdrew $8,000 from his bank account. The Crown says that was money to pay Kerr.

A pastor from a Tamil church testified for the defence, suggesting Balasubramaniam was assisting with the renovation of the church, and the money was needed, in part, to pay for the renovations.

Kerr’s lawyer, Fariborz Davoudi argued his client had done gardening work for Balasubramaniam in the past and was assisting with the clean-up of the church.

Owen’s lawyer, Cydney Israel, argued her client was a customer of Balasubramaniam’s from the convenience store and she had no knowledge of the murder.

Samuel’s lawyer, C.J. Partington argued his client couldn’t see the front door, nor hear the shots, so he had no idea what happened in the home, despite the fact he admitted Samuel rented the car and drove him there.

None of the accused testified in their own defence.

The jury began deliberating on Wednesday afternoon.