Deliberations continue in Canada ‘honor’ murder trial
A jury in Kingston, Ontario, resumes its deliberations Sunday in the “honor” murder trial of three members of a Montreal family who are accused of killing four relatives.
Mohammed Shafia, 58; his wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42; and their son, Hamed, 21, are charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Shafia’s three teenage daughters and his first wife in his polygamous marriage.
The family members were all recent immigrants to Canada from Afghanistan. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Sunday will be the second day of deliberations for the seven women and five men on the jury.
The three Shafia sisters — Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 — were found dead inside a car that plunged into the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30, 2009. Shafia’s first wife, 50-year-old Rona Amir Mohammad, also died.
Prosecutors allege the girls’ father, mother and brother all plotted to kill the four women in an “honor” murder. Investigators claim that hours of wiretapped conversations reveal a premeditated plan to punish rebellious, Westernized daughters and their permissive advocate, Rona.