The Bizarre Case Of The Kingston Honour Killing

[Zee]

"Honour Killing" is the biggest oxymoron. It's about control and mysogyny. Another sad case that has gone of for a long time is this one... http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01...-killing-case/

[valo403]

Originally Posted by darklord700

The weakest part of the Crown's case is that they couldn't say how the victims died except that they drowned. The judge actually told the jury at the beginning of the trial that circumstantial evidence and direct evidence weight the same in our judicial system. So I agree that the Crown built their case on a lot of circumstantial evidence. But if the jury abide by, and they should, the judge's direction at the beginning of the trial, these circumstantial evidence is actually quite powerful.

At the end, the jury will have to decide if the defense story of a joy ride gone wrong at 2 am with 4 people, coupled with the accidental ramming by the son was actually an accident or a premeditated murder.

It's not a matter of the weight given to the evidence, it's what it says. Direct evidence gives you a direct answer/tie, circumstantial evidence gets you a possible answer/tie but also leaves the door open to a variety of other explanations. These cases often come down to the performance of the lawyers, hopefully both sides were represented competently as opposed to the all too common situation where the crown attorneys are overworked and underpaid and unable to perform at their best because of it.

I'm certainly not saying that it means they didn't do it, but when there's that much weight being placed on circumstantial evidence I'd be pretty hesitant to place a bet on a guilty verdict.

[Reaper]

As a complete aside, whenever I hear the name of the wife on trial I imagine it being said as an exclamatory statement by Bumblebee man from the Simpsons.

"Toooba Ya Ya!"

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I am not up to date on this trial. Why did the father and brother have so much hate towards there daughters/sisters?

Because they had the audacity to be people instead of property.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by darklord700

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/...brupt-whimper/

I've been following this trial closely and one thing I never understood and the Crown wisely avoided mentioning is that how did the victim die or get killed.

In all likelihood the four victims, 3 fully grown women and one teenage girl were all dead or at least subdued by the 3 accused before the car plunged into the river.

Of the 3 accused, the father is 52 and the son is about 18 both are physically fit but hardly strong. I find it hard to believe both of them could subdue or kill the four victims in a relatively short time frame of 30 minutes.

I initially thought the four victims must had been drugged but autopsy turned up nothing. Could it be that there was hitman involved?

Child proof door locks were likely the biggest reason they could manage it, get all 3 girls in the back and they would have little chance to get out.

[Northendzone]

it is hard to wrap your head around killing a family member because you don't like who they were dating.....also, wierd to be part of a family unit of 10 that is suddenly reduced by three, wonder what the others thought......

[calgarybornnraised]

BUMP

A verdict has been reached after 2 days of deliberation.

[darklord700]

A short 2 day deliberation (actually 1 and a half day) does not bode well with the accused. We'll see.

[grizz29]

Sounds totally normal - not sure what everyone is up in arms about. Another example of how peaceful this religion is.

[OffsideSpecialist]

From a local radio station's Facebook page (just realized it's originally from CTV):

GUILTY

A jury has found three members of an Afghanistan-born Montreal family guilty of killing three daughters and a co-wife in a so-called honour killing.

Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, have been found guilty of four counts each of first-degree murder.

They have been convicted of killing Shafia sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, their father's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.

...

The defence had said it was an accident, that they had gone for a joy ride with Zainab driving and accidentally plunged into the canal with Hamed watching, although he didn't call police.

Ottawa Citizen Twitter account confirms this:

The Ottawa Citizen @OttawaCitizen
Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and their son Hamed Mohammad Shafia have been found guilty of first-degree murder #verdict

Citizen's full article is here

[darklord700]

The verdict restorts some faith in me in the judicial system of this country. However, shouldn't it be 25X4=100 years with no chance of parole instead of just 25 years?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by darklord700

The verdict restorts some faith in me in the judicial system of this country. However, shouldn't it be 25X4=100 years with no chance of parole instead of just 25 years?

I thought in Canada sentences are concurrent, unlike the US which has consecutive life sentences.

[DuffMan]

Hope they like jail.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Hope they like jail.

I hope they don't. I hope they really, really don't.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I hope they don't. I hope they really, really don't.

green text implied.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I thought in Canada sentences are concurrent, unlike the US which has consecutive life sentences.

What's the rationale behind concurrent life sentences? In this case, it makes no difference between killing 4 people and 1?

[Stranger]

I hope they live long miserable lives in jail.

On a side note. What could have happened in this trial if Ontario had set up Shariah courts? Would it still have been 1st degree murder?

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Stranger

I hope they live long miserable lives in jail.

On a side note. What could have happened in this trial if Ontario had set up Shariah courts? Would it still have been 1st degree murder?

What are you talking about?

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I wish the media and everyone else discussing this case would stop using the phrase "honour killing" and start calling it what it is: cold-blooded murder.

I do like that they used this term so that everyone knows what it is and how wrong it is.

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Stranger

I hope they live long miserable lives in jail.

On a side note. What could have happened in this trial if Ontario had set up Shariah courts? Would it still have been 1st degree murder?

I am sure you are referring to the attempts to set up "Shariah" tribunals in '04 to deal with divorce and inheritance issues, much like the Jewish and Christian faith-based tribunals that already exist deal with the same issues.

It had nothing at all to do with anything associated with murder trials or anything of their ilk, although xenophobic islamophobes loved to make it sound that way.

So, yes, it would have still been 1st-degree murder, because it never would have been tried in any sort of religious court.