Toddler seriously injured in park accident
Initial reports suggest the boy fell down an embarkment at Erindale Park and was subsequently struck in the head by a falling rock shorlty after 3 p.m.
More to come...
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Toddler seriously injured in park accident
Initial reports suggest the boy fell down an embarkment at Erindale Park and was subsequently struck in the head by a falling rock shorlty after 3 p.m.
More to come...
SIU investigating Oakville shooting
SIU investigating Oakville shooting
Initial reports suggest the man was being pursued by Halton Regional Police after the alleged theft of a vehicle.
Shots are believed to have been fired near 3rd Line and North Service Rd.
The man was transported to a trauma centre in Hamilton.
The severity of his injuries are not known.
More to come…
Family saw slain girls as treacherous: Crown
Family saw slain girls as treacherous: Crown
ALLISON JONES
KINGSTON, Ont. - A Montreal family couldn't bear the "treachery" of their three teenaged daughters having boyfriends, so they drowned them and the father's first wife, pushing a car into a canal and staging the scene to look like an implausible accident, court heard Thursday.
Days after the bodies were found the father was recorded saying, "There is nothing more valuable than our honour."
Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, her husband Mohammad Shafia, 58, and their son, Hamed Mohammad Shafia, 20, are each charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Three teenage Shafia sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with Shafia's first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 50, were found dead inside a submerged black Nissan Sentra discovered June 30, 2009 in the Rideau Canal. The family had stopped in Kingston on their way home from a trip to Niagara Falls.
An expert will be called to testify about honour killings and how in extreme cases, killing can be seen in some cultures as a way to restore honour to a family, the Crown attorney said Thursday at the outset of the trial. Disobedience by a female member of the family can cause shame and taint family honour, she said.
Laurie Lacelle quoted police wiretaps made surreptitiously in the days after the deaths that show the family's concern for their honour.
"Even if they hoist me up onto the gallows, nothing is more dear to me than my honour," Shafia said. "Let's leave our destiny to God, and may God never make me, you or your mother honourless...There is nothing more valuable than our honour."
When police began to suspect the three were involved in the deaths, they told the family they were examining a camera near the scene for clues, in the hopes this would prompt discussion among the Shafias in their car, which the police had bugged. They scoffed and immediately suspected police were bluffing.
"If they had had any proof they would have come for us a long time ago," Shafia said.
Another wiretap recorded Shafia and Yahya talking about their daughters 20 days after they died.
"If we remain alive...we have no tension thinking our daughter is in the arms of this or that boy, this or that man," Shafia said on a wiretap. "God's curse on them for generations. May the devil ...(expletive) on their graves. Is that what a daughter should be? Would a daughter be such a whore?"
"There can be no treachery, no violation more than this," Lacelle quoted Shafia as saying on the wiretaps. "They committed treason from beginning to end. They betrayed humankind. They betrayed Islam...They betrayed everything."
The family, originally from Afghanistan, was in turmoil before the deaths. The eldest daughter, Zainab Shafia, had run away and both of the other two girls had repeatedly told authorities they were afraid and wanted to leave the family home. Shafia and Hamed controlled the home, making the rules and doling out punishment, sometimes violent, Lacelle said.
Zainab had run away from home and her mother convinced her to come home by saying she would let her marry her boyfriend, Lacelle said. But when none of her boyfriend's family showed up to the wedding, Yahya and Hamed Shafia forced Zainab to get it annulled the same day.
Sahar, 17, had a boyfriend and the parents suspected 13-year-old Geeti was also seeing a boy, Lacelle said. Their younger siblings would report to the father and eldest brother when Sahar, 17, was speaking to boys at school. Sahar was suicidal, Lacelle said.
But the troubles within the family weren't exclusively about boys. Zainab and Sahar were resisting their family's urging to wear the hijab, the Crown attorney said. The two sisters loved clothes and dressed fashionably, she said. Geeti had been caught shoplifting, was failing most of her classes and got sent home from school for wearing inappropriate clothing.
Ten days before the girls and Mohammad were found dead, a Google search was conducted on a laptop registered to Shafia and used by his son Hamed, Lacelle said. The words entered were, "where to commit a murder."
Five days before that someone had searched for "facts and documentaries on murders," Lacelle said. Earlier, someone had Googled "can a prisoner have control over their real estate?"
Rona Amir Mohammad was Shafia's first wife, but he married Yahya when it became apparent Mohammad couldn't have children. She helped raise the children and loved them dearly, Lacelle said, but she wrote in a diary that Yahya treated her poorly and Shafia beat her. She wanted to leave, but told family members that she was afraid if she left Shafia would kill her, Lacelle said.
Pictures of Mohammad and the three beautiful, young girls were shown on screens to the jury and the court as Lacelle talked about their lives and their deaths. Shafia and his son showed no emotion, but Yahya leaned forward and appeared to weep as she held a tissue over her face whenever the pictures were flashed on the screen.
The family gave various scenarios at various times suggesting the deaths were a terrible accident, Lacelle said, but there is evidence that one of the family's cars pushed the Nissan Sentra — that Shafia bought for $5,000 a few days before the deaths — into the locks where it was found.
Pieces of the Sentra were found in the damaged front of the family's Lexus SUV. A map of the scene, shown to the jury, indicates the car would have had to go past a locked gate, over a concrete curb and then make two U-turns to end up in the locks of the canal.
The jury will be taken next Thursday to see where the car was found at the locks.
A motel manager will testify that when Shafia and Hamed checked in to two rooms for the family that night, there was some confusion about how many people would be in the rooms. At first Shafia said six. There were 10 people on that family trip.
The cause of death was drowning, but it's impossible to tell if they drowned in the canal or somewhere else, Lacelle said. Moderate bruising was found on the crowns of all the victims' heads except Sahar, she said.
The first witness called in the trial, Kingston police Const. Julia Moore, testified Thursday that when the Nissan Sentra was pulled up from the canal the keys were in the ignition in the off position and the headlights were off, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and no lights were near the locks, she said.
Outside court, two of the defence lawyers noted that only one side of the story has been heard so far.
"Of course they present a strong case because it's their version," said Yahya's lawyer, David Crowe. "Lots of things on paper look iron clad."
Shafia's lawyer, Peter Kemp, suggested the Crown's opening address left holes in their theory.
"They've indicated what they think the evidence is, but I didn't hear anything there about how they died or when they died or where they died, so those are puzzles that have to be solved," he said outside court.
The trial is expected to last between two and three months. Before the trial got underway Thursday, one of the jurors asked to be excused, saying "the stress is just killing me." Judge Robert Maranger replaced him with one of the two alternate jurors.
Family saw slain girls as treacherous: Crown
Days after the bodies were found the father was recorded saying, "There is nothing more valuable than our honour."
Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, her husband Mohammad Shafia, 58, and their son, Hamed Mohammad Shafia, 20, are each charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Three teenage Shafia sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with Shafia's first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 50, were found dead inside a submerged black Nissan Sentra discovered June 30, 2009 in the Rideau Canal. The family had stopped in Kingston on their way home from a trip to Niagara Falls.
An expert will be called to testify about honour killings and how in extreme cases, killing can be seen in some cultures as a way to restore honour to a family, the Crown attorney said Thursday at the outset of the trial. Disobedience by a female member of the family can cause shame and taint family honour, she said.
Laurie Lacelle quoted police wiretaps made surreptitiously in the days after the deaths that show the family's concern for their honour.
"Even if they hoist me up onto the gallows, nothing is more dear to me than my honour," Shafia said. "Let's leave our destiny to God, and may God never make me, you or your mother honourless...There is nothing more valuable than our honour."
When police began to suspect the three were involved in the deaths, they told the family they were examining a camera near the scene for clues, in the hopes this would prompt discussion among the Shafias in their car, which the police had bugged. They scoffed and immediately suspected police were bluffing.
"If they had had any proof they would have come for us a long time ago," Shafia said.
Another wiretap recorded Shafia and Yahya talking about their daughters 20 days after they died.
"If we remain alive...we have no tension thinking our daughter is in the arms of this or that boy, this or that man," Shafia said on a wiretap. "God's curse on them for generations. May the devil ...(expletive) on their graves. Is that what a daughter should be? Would a daughter be such a whore?"
"There can be no treachery, no violation more than this," Lacelle quoted Shafia as saying on the wiretaps. "They committed treason from beginning to end. They betrayed humankind. They betrayed Islam...They betrayed everything."
The family, originally from Afghanistan, was in turmoil before the deaths. The eldest daughter, Zainab Shafia, had run away and both of the other two girls had repeatedly told authorities they were afraid and wanted to leave the family home. Shafia and Hamed controlled the home, making the rules and doling out punishment, sometimes violent, Lacelle said.
Zainab had run away from home and her mother convinced her to come home by saying she would let her marry her boyfriend, Lacelle said. But when none of her boyfriend's family showed up to the wedding, Yahya and Hamed Shafia forced Zainab to get it annulled the same day.
Sahar, 17, had a boyfriend and the parents suspected 13-year-old Geeti was also seeing a boy, Lacelle said. Their younger siblings would report to the father and eldest brother when Sahar, 17, was speaking to boys at school. Sahar was suicidal, Lacelle said.
But the troubles within the family weren't exclusively about boys. Zainab and Sahar were resisting their family's urging to wear the hijab, the Crown attorney said. The two sisters loved clothes and dressed fashionably, she said. Geeti had been caught shoplifting, was failing most of her classes and got sent home from school for wearing inappropriate clothing.
Ten days before the girls and Mohammad were found dead, a Google search was conducted on a laptop registered to Shafia and used by his son Hamed, Lacelle said. The words entered were, "where to commit a murder."
Five days before that someone had searched for "facts and documentaries on murders," Lacelle said. Earlier, someone had Googled "can a prisoner have control over their real estate?"
Rona Amir Mohammad was Shafia's first wife, but he married Yahya when it became apparent Mohammad couldn't have children. She helped raise the children and loved them dearly, Lacelle said, but she wrote in a diary that Yahya treated her poorly and Shafia beat her. She wanted to leave, but told family members that she was afraid if she left Shafia would kill her, Lacelle said.
Pictures of Mohammad and the three beautiful, young girls were shown on screens to the jury and the court as Lacelle talked about their lives and their deaths. Shafia and his son showed no emotion, but Yahya leaned forward and appeared to weep as she held a tissue over her face whenever the pictures were flashed on the screen.
The family gave various scenarios at various times suggesting the deaths were a terrible accident, Lacelle said, but there is evidence that one of the family's cars pushed the Nissan Sentra — that Shafia bought for $5,000 a few days before the deaths — into the locks where it was found.
Pieces of the Sentra were found in the damaged front of the family's Lexus SUV. A map of the scene, shown to the jury, indicates the car would have had to go past a locked gate, over a concrete curb and then make two U-turns to end up in the locks of the canal.
The jury will be taken next Thursday to see where the car was found at the locks.
A motel manager will testify that when Shafia and Hamed checked in to two rooms for the family that night, there was some confusion about how many people would be in the rooms. At first Shafia said six. There were 10 people on that family trip.
The cause of death was drowning, but it's impossible to tell if they drowned in the canal or somewhere else, Lacelle said. Moderate bruising was found on the crowns of all the victims' heads except Sahar, she said.
The first witness called in the trial, Kingston police Const. Julia Moore, testified Thursday that when the Nissan Sentra was pulled up from the canal the keys were in the ignition in the off position and the headlights were off, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and no lights were near the locks, she said.
Outside court, two of the defence lawyers noted that only one side of the story has been heard so far.
"Of course they present a strong case because it's their version," said Yahya's lawyer, David Crowe. "Lots of things on paper look iron clad."
Shafia's lawyer, Peter Kemp, suggested the Crown's opening address left holes in their theory.
"They've indicated what they think the evidence is, but I didn't hear anything there about how they died or when they died or where they died, so those are puzzles that have to be solved," he said outside court.
The trial is expected to last between two and three months. Before the trial got underway Thursday, one of the jurors asked to be excused, saying "the stress is just killing me." Judge Robert Maranger replaced him with one of the two alternate jurors.
Family saw slain girls as treacherous: Crown
Conflicted Iraqis face future without US troops
Conflicted Iraqis face future without US troops
Now many fear an increase in violence, growing Iranian influence and political turmoil after President Barack Obama's definitive announcement that all U.S. forces will leave by the end of the year.
In conversations with The Associated Press, Iraqis across the political, religious and geographic spectrum on Saturday questioned what more than eight years of war and tens of thousands of Iraqi and U.S. lives lost had wrought on their country. They wondered how their still struggling democracy could face the challenges ahead.
"Neither the Iraqis nor the Americans have won here," said Adnan Omar, a Sunni from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
Rifaat Khazim, a Shiite from the southern city of Basra, said, "I do not think that this withdrawal will bring anything better to Iraq or that Iraqi leaders will be able to achieve stability and security in this country. Most of the Iraqis yearn now for Saddam's time. Now, Iraq is defenceless in the face of the threats by the neighbouring countries."
Across the country there was a strong sense of disbelief. The Americans, having spent hundreds of billions of dollars, lost nearly 4,500 troops' lives and built up sprawling bases as big as many Iraqi cities, would never really leave, many Iraqis thought. Some celebrated the exit of foreign occupiers and the emergence of real sovereignty. But there was also an apprehension, almost a sense of resignation, that things will get worse.
Though greatly reduced from the depths of near civil war from 2006 to 2008, shooting and bombings rattle Iraqis daily. Significantly all the elements from those darkest days remain: al-Qaida militants, Shiite militias, Sunni insurgents. Resentment still simmers among the Sunni Muslim minority over domination by the Shiite majority, Kurds in the north still hold aspirations of breaking away. Despite years of promises of better government services, most of the country gets by on a few hours of electricity a day.
In the eyes of Iraqis, the Americans were both the cause of those woes and the bulwark against them exploding. Many blame the 2003 U.S.-led invasion for unleashing all the demons kept bottled up by Saddam's dictatorship, and allowing new ones — like al-Qaida — to slip in.
Yet at the same time, U.S. troop reinforcements helped rein them in by 2008. Many feel the powerful American presence prevents Iraqi politicians from dragging the country into the worst of sectarian reprisals and hatreds. Few believe Iraqi forces are up to keeping security or can avoid falling into the same sectarian splits.
"After the American withdrawal, the security in Iraq will definitely deteriorate. More attacks by al-Qaida are likely to happen," said Dhia Abdullah, a Shiite from eastern Baghdad. "The security elements are not loyal to Iraq but to parties and militias therefore the security situation will be very bad after the withdrawal."
Nearly 40,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, all of whom will withdraw by Dec. 31, a deadline set in a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and the administration of then-President George W. Bush.
The Obama administration, concerned over continued violence and growing Iranian influence, for much of this year pushed to keep thousands of U.S. troops here in a significant-sized training mission. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials expressed support of the idea, and they negotiated for months.
It was politically delicate for both Obama and al-Maliki, who each faced widespread opposition from their respective publics to continue a war that was never popular in either nation.
But talks ran aground over Iraqi opposition to giving American troops legal immunity that would shield them from Iraqi prosecution. Legal protection for U.S. troops has always angered everyday Iraqis who saw it as simply a way for the Americans to run roughshod over the country. Many Iraqi lawmakers were hesitant to grant immunity for fear of a backlash from constituents.
"When the Americans asked for immunity, the Iraqi side answered that it was not possible," al-Maliki told a news conference Saturday. "The discussions over the number of trainers and the place of training stopped. Now that the issue of immunity was decided and that no immunity to be given, the withdrawal has started."
When Obama announced Friday that all American forces would leave Iraq by the end of the year, he did not mention the immunity issue, portraying the decision as the fulfilment of one of his main campaign promises to end the conflict.
The impression of the U.S. as all-powerful has always permeated Iraqi society, leaving many Iraqis assuming that the decision was purely an American one instead of an Iraqi choice.
Many, both Sunnis and Shiites, were sure the departure of American forces inevitably will lead to a rise in Iranian influence.
"The withdrawal announcement is a message to the Iranians to come and take over Iraq. The Iraqis are the real losers here because they have replaced the U.S. occupation with Iranian occupation," said Adel al-Dulaimi, a Sunni from northern Baghdad.
In an interview released Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran has "a very good relationship" with Iraq's government that will continue to grow.
"We have deepened our ties day by day," Ahmadinejad said in an interview Saturday with CNN.
To be sure, many Iraqis were happy. Iraqis resented years of having to pull to the side of the road when American troops drove by or putting up with raids of their homes in the middle of the night.
"The Iraqi people are the winner because a few months from now, we will walk in the streets without seeing U.S. troops and this is a source of joy to us because Iraq has restored its full sovereignty," said Saif Qassim, a Sunni from the northern city of Mosul.
Others suspicious of the U.S. questioned whether the American military would ever give up its toehold here.
"I believe that the full withdrawal will be only in the media but there must be secret deals with the Americans to keep some American forces or members of the American intelligence," said Raja Haidr, a Shiite from eastern Baghdad. "They won't leave."
Al-Maliki told reporters he still wants American help in training Iraqi forces to use billions of dollars worth of military equipment that Baghdad is buying from the United States. About 160 U.S. troops will remain at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to help oversee training plans — a duty that is common at most American diplomatic posts worldwide.
U.S. officials, from Obama to Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, stressed that Washington will continue to have a strong diplomatic relationship with Baghdad.
Michael O'Hanlon, an expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington said continued violence in Iraq was a threat whether or not U.S. troops remain.
"But it's true that their frequency may increase absent U.S. help in areas of intelligence and special operations," said O'Hanlon, who had been lobbying for a larger U.S. force to remain behind. "In addition, I do fear the residual risk of civil war goes up with this decision."
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Etobicoke murder victim ID'd
Etobicoke murder victim ID'd
By Jenny Yuen
Nigel Caine, 20, was found shot several times in the upper body and lying near a 19-year-old man who also had gunshot wounds early Friday morning at 10 Monet Ave., near Crendon Dr.
“They’re still trying to determine the motive behind the shooting,” Const. Tony Vella said Saturday. “The officers have notified the deceased’s family and they’re doing a background investigation on him to find out why he would be targeted.”
Both men were taken to hospital where Caine died. The other victim remains in hospital in serious condition with a head injury.
A gun was found at the scene, but detectives are still trying to figure out if it’s connected to the crime.
Police are now weeding through security video for clues. More than 20 officers from various divisions combed the residential neighbourhood Friday in an effort to recover more evidence and other weapons.
“They’re still looking into the connection of the two men,” Vella said.
Homicide Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne said at the scene Friday he believes they’re hunting a lone gunman. A silver-coloured imported vehicle was last seen fleeing the scene.
An autopsy is expected to be done likely this weekend.
Investigators are asking the public to come forward if they have any information about this case. They can call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.
Meanwhile, police have also released the name of a man wanted in murder during the Nuit Blanche arts festival earlier this month.
Darnell St. Clair Wright, 22, of Toronto, also known as Darnell Grant, is wanted for first-degree murder in the death of Jefflin Beals, Toronto Police said.
Beals, 25, of Dartmouth, NS was killed near Trinity Bellwoods Park at Crawford St. and Lobb Ave. on Oct. 2.
Wright is described as having brown skin, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, black hair and may have facial hair. He has a number of tattoos on his body, including on his neck.
He is considered armed and dangerous, police said.
If spotted, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.
Wright may be heading to the Halifax area, police said.
He was last known to be driving a 2012 four-door, grey, Hyundai Sonata with Ontario licence plate BMDZ 171.