A Toronto judge has sentenced former neurosurgeon Mohammed Shamji to life in prison for the second-degree murder of his wife Dr. Elana Fric-Shamji, the mother of his three children who has been described by friends as an exceptional doctor. Shamji must serve 14 years in prison before he can first apply for parole, Justice John McMahon said Thursday morning. Shamji, who has been in custody since Dec. 2, 2016, will be eligible for parole in 11-and-a-half years. The 14-year period of parole ineligibility, which is in the middle of the usual range for domestic second-degree murders, “reflects the gravity of the violence in the domestic murder but also acknowledges the remorse and the plea of guilty and the positive antecedents of the accused,” McMahon said. The sentence was jointly proposed by the Crown and the defence. The brutal and painful way Fric-Shamji was murdered and Shamji’s admitted history of abuse against his wife were aggravating factors in the sentence, McMahon said. No one should be killed for leaving an abusive relationship, he said.By murdering his wife, Shamji also robbed the community of a talented doctor and their three children of their mother, he said.“The enormity of that loss will be felt by the children for the rest of their lives,” McMahon said. Quoting Ana Fric, Dr. Fric-Shamji’s mother, he said: “Instead of making cards and trinkets for their mother, they lay flowers on her grave.”However, by pleading guilty and taking responsibility for his actions, Shamji spared his eldest daughter, now 14, the trauma of testifying at her father’s murder trial, and saved his children and his wife’s family “reliving this nightmare further,” McMahon said. He accepted that Shamji was remorseful based on his statements during the sentencing hearing. McMahon also noted Shamji was a highly skilled neurosurgeon who saved many of his patients’ lives through his work and had been ̶ ...
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