Murder was ‘twisted, chilling and repugnant,’ judge says
Aqsa Parvez’s father and brother had a mindset that was “chilling, twisted and repugnant,” Justice Bruce Durno told a Brampton court Wednesday.
Muhammad Parvez, 60, and his son Waqas, 29, deserve to spend the rest of their lives in prison, he said, and it will be up to the National Parole Board if they will ever be released. Durno agreed their parole ineligibility should be set at 18 years.
“It is not the date when the prison doors will open for one or both,” Durno said.
They will also have the chance to ask a jury to decide after 15 years under the so-called “faint hope clause” if they can get paroled at that point, Durno said.
On Tuesday, the father and son pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, admitting they strangled the 16-year-old Grade 11 student in her bedroom in the family’s home on Longhorn Trail in Mississauga. Her room was the only one in the home without a door.
Based on their admissions and Aqsa’s mother’s words that were recorded in a police interview room, Durno seemed to agree with Crown prosecutors Sandra Caponecchia and Mara Basso that they killed her to uphold the family honour in their community.
He said the motivation behind this “senseless” tragedy was a “most significant” factor in deciding the parole ineligibility of 18 years.
“It’s profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old woman facing significant challenges adjusting to life in a very different society than her parents lived in could be murdered for the purpose of saving the family pride and avoid the community embarrassment of not being able to control what they perceived to be a rebellious daughter.
“This chilling, twisted and repugnant mindset could imply that two grown men would overpower and kill a vulnerable young daughter . . . and be willing to go to jail,” Durno said.
Durno said the facts of this case were extremely serious in that Aqsa was strangled in her bed.
“Her father literally had her blood on his hands,” Durno said. He described Aqsa as a “young, vulnerable” victim whose entire life ahead of her.
Aqsa’s mother, Anwar Jan, wept sporadically as she sat in the courtroom along with other family members.
Muhammad briefly spoke to his wife before being led away from the courtroom.
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