One year after a couple was shot and killed in their Caledon home in what investigators have described as a case of mistaken identity, Ontario Provincial Police say they are still trying to figure out who pulled the trigger.
Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55, and their daughter Jaspreet were shot inside their Mayfield Road home on Nov. 20, 2023.
The three were shot by an unknown suspect or suspects who broke into their home shortly before midnight.
Jagtar was pronounced dead at the scene, while Harbhajan and her daughter were rushed to hospital with critical injuries. Harbhajan later died and although Jaspreet survived, police said she sustained life-altering injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of homicides, police said they were unable to find a motive for the shooting and investigators were not sure who carried out the murders.
Over the past year, the OPP, in collaboration with U.S. law enforcement, say they have unearthed some pieces of the puzzle in relation to what transpired that evening.
Few details about the investigation were released until last month, when the FBI announced that 43-year-old Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian and former Olympian, and 34-year-old Andrew Clark, allegedly directed the murders of the couple in Caledon. The homicides, the FBI said, were carried out “in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment” that passed through Southern California.
According to the FBI, Wedding, a former snowboarder who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Games, is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries.
Andrew Clark was arrested in October by authorities in Mexico and is currently in U.S. custody. The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for Wedding, who remains at large.
Speaking to CP24.com earlier this week, OPP Det. Insp. Brian McDermott said police knew “very early on” that the family was targeted by mistake.
He said police have been in contact with the person they believe was the intended target of the shooting on Mayfield Road last year.
“We’ve spoken with the individual. They’re aware they were the intended target, and we have taken appropriate steps to work through safety planning with that individual,” McDermott said.
He said police are still trying to identify the shooter.
“… investigators still want to identify the individual or individuals that were actually in their home and carried out the murders,” McDermott said.
Police do not know how many suspects were involved in the shooting but one suspect was observed getting into a pickup truck and heading west on Mayfield Road on the night of the incident.
According to investigators, that same pickup truck was later located engulfed in flames on Olde Baseline and Creditview roads just hours after the shooting.
“We’re still working full time on it, and we continue to work on leads and try and identify the individual or individuals that were in the home,” McDermott said.
He said police have no information that the couple were in any way involved in the drug trade.
“We have no information that they had any involvement in any criminality,” McDermott said. “They were simply going about their business in their home.”
Wedding and Clark linked to other homicides in Ontario
Wedding and Clark are also accused of directing the murders of two other people in Ontario, including 39-year-old Brampton resident Mohammed Zafar.
Zafar was shot in his driveway in the area of Mississauga Road and Sandalwood Parkway on May 18, 2024 and according to the FBI, he was killed over a drug debt.
Wedding, Clark, and another suspect, identified as 23-year-old Canadian Malik Damion Cunningham, are also charged in the murder of 29-year-old Ryan Fader in Niagara Falls on April 1, 2024.
U.S. court documents detail alleged communications between Cunningham and Clark on encrypted messaging app Threema, where investigators say the two discussed “plans to commit murders.”
According to the court documents, Clark allegedly hired Cunningham “to murder a list of targets,” which included Fader.
Caledon homicides tied to other shootings in Peel Region
As part of a Peel police investigation dubbed Project Midnight, investigators previously linked the Caledon shooting to a separate homicide investigation in Mississauga and a string of residential shootings in Brampton last November.
Police said “investigative information and forensic evidence” confirmed that the deadly shooting in Caledon was tied to three residential shootings and the murder of 29-year-old Brampton resident Jagraj Singh last November.
Peel police were called to Royal Windsor Drive and Winston Churchill Boulevard in Mississauga on Nov.15, 2023 for a fatal shooting at a business in the area.
According to police, two unknown suspects approached a business and shot and killed an individual who was working there at the time.
“Investigators have determined that Mr. Singh was not the intended target and it was simply the wrong place at the wrong time,” Peel police homicide Insp. Todd Custance told reporters back in March.
Two suspects were subsequently arrested in connection with Project Midnight but no homicide charges have been laid in the case.
“We still have a team that’s investigating and they’re working full time on this, looking to identify the individual or individuals that were responsible for not only the homicide of the Sidhu family, but also the homicide in Peel that forms part of Project Midnight,” McDermott said.