A judge has ruled that a first-degree murder trial will be held in the case of a Toronto neurosurgeon accused of murdering his physician wife.
Dr. Mohammed Shamji was in a North York courtroom in a suit and dress shirt Friday morning as a judge told him that he will face a trial in connection with the death of his wife. Shamji sat still with his eyes darting around occasionally.
A date for the trial will be set in April, the judge said.
The body of Dr. Elana Fric-Shamji was found stuffed in a suitcase in a wooded area in Kleinburg in December 2016.
Police allege that Fric-Shamji was murdered at her home on either Nov. 30 or Dec. 1.
Shamji was arrested a day after his wife’s body was discovered.
He has been charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains.
The charges have not been proven in court.
As they walked out of the courthouse on Friday morning, the parents of Fric-Shamji told CTV News Toronto that they’re satisfied with the day’s proceedings.
“That’s what we were waiting for, for justice, for us and for the kids,” Ana Fric said.
“She’s six-feet down in the grave but we are her voice. She keeps telling us, ‘Mom, keep fighting… Keep fighting. Let justice be done. Let justice be done.”
The family says the couple’s three young children miss their mother but are relying on support from their extended family.
“And those three grandchildren… We see our daughter in those three kids,” Jo Fric said, his voice choked with emotion.
Along with Fric-Shamji’s parents, about a dozen relatives filed out of the courtroom on Friday, each of them wearing a purple ribbon as a symbol of domestic violence awareness.
“We’re standing up for the family, for the children and especially for Jo and Ana because without all the support, this would be very difficult for them I think,” Carol Vrbanek, Fric Shamji’s cousin, told CTV News Toronto.
Shamji has been in custody since his arrest. In August, a judge denied him bail.
The trial date is expected to be set on April 6.
Ana Fric said she and her husband will continue to show up in honour of her daughter and the children she left behind.
“I’m not speaking only as a mother that lost a daughter – these kids lost a mom,” she said.
