An ex\u002DCanadian soldier and alleged hitman accused of killing a former B.C. gangster in Thailand could face the death penalty if extradited.
Matthew Dupre, 36, began an extradition hearing Tuesday in Edmonton Court of King’s Bench — an early step which could end with his surrender to Thai authorities for trial in the murder of Jimi Singh Sandhu.Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Dupre was previously a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, serving in Afghanistan before joining a private security firm deployed in high-risk areas including Iraq. A resident of Sylvan Lake, Dupre was Dupre and Lahrkamp allegedly arrived in Thailand on the same flight Dec. 18, 2021, and stayed together at local hotels in the lead-up to the shooting.The government claims that just before 3 a.m. Feb. 2, Dupre and Lahrkamp walked to Sidhu’s villa and appeared to place a GPS tracking device on the underside of his vehicle. The next day, they returned to either inspect or change the tracking device.
Around that time they were spotted by a Ukrainian tourist, who said she saw two men matching the suspect descriptions behaving “suspiciously.” Tuesday’s hearing will not decide whether Dupre is surrendered to Thailand, a task that ultimately falls to the federal minister of justice.