Police charge brother in murder of his teenaged sister
Toronto Post
Posted: June 27, 2008, 8:24 AM by Suzanne Steel
A 27-year-old man originally charged with obstructing justice in the murder of his teenaged sister, has now been charged with first degree murder.
Peel Regional Police said Friday that Waqas Parvez is to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice today to face the new charges
The murder of Aqsa Parvez, 16, gained international attention after high school classmates claimed that the girl had clashed with her devout Muslim family about her refusal to wear traditional clothes. The strained relations drove Aqsa out of her home and to another Muslim family, who described her as a “typical” teenager who yearned for acceptance while straddling the Muslim and Western cultures. They disputed the claim that the friction was over a hijab, and said the girl was repairing her relationship with her family in the days leading up to her death.
On the morning of Dec. 10, 2007, her brother picked her up at a bus stop and took her home, where police say she was strangled to death before 8 a.m. Police say a man called 911 and said he had killed his daughter.
Muhammad Parvez, 57, was arrested that day and later charged with second-degree murder. The charge was later upgraded to first degree, which suggests premeditation and planning.
The full story…
No bail for slain teen's father as homicide detectives continue to gather evidence
The Toronto Star
Dec 12, 2007 05:08 PM
JOSH WINGROVE, JIM WILKES AND BOB MITCHELL
STAFF REPORTERS
Aqsa Parvez was strangled to death in her Mississauga home, Peel police said today.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death as \"neck compression.\"
The 16-year-old was taken to hospital Monday morning after a man called police and said he killed his daughter. She died later that night.
Friends told reporters that Aqsa fought with her Muslim family over whether or not to wear the hijab. She often stayed overnight with friends, afraid to go home, they said.
Her father, Muhammad Parvez, 57, appeared in court today and will face either a first- or second-degree murder charge. He was denied bail and remanded into custody until a hearing via video link on Jan. 29.
Parvez stood silently in the prisoner’s dock during the hearing in a Brampton courtroom.
Handcuffed and wearing a prison-orange jumpsuit, he mumbled the single word “yes” when asked if he understood a court order not to communicate with his son, Waqas Parvez, 26, who was also arrested and faces a charge of obstructing police.
The two men were charged after Aqsa was found critically injured Monday morning.
Outside the courthouse this morning, defence lawyer Joseph Ciraco said Muhammad Parvez has a heart condition and that he had asked the court to monitor his client’s health while he’s held in custody.
Ciraco described the circumstances surrounding Aqsa’s death as “a tragedy” for everyone involved.
Last night , Peel homicide investigators were still interviewing relatives and fellow students, as well as consulting with Peel's Crown attorney on whether to charge Muhammad Parvez with first- or second-degree murder.
Speaking outside the court, Ciraco said that decision still had not been made as of this morning, but that it was his understanding that the charge would probably be second-degree murder.
Sources said police planned to speak with several students at Applewood Heights Secondary School in Mississauga, who told various media that Aqsa feared her father, who had threatened her.
\"Investigators are still gathering evidence,\" Peel Const. Wayne Patterson said.
Little is known about the dead girl's father and her family, who neighbours said had lived in their Longhorn Trail home for about two to three years.
Neighbours said it appeared several different but related families lived in the two-storey home, which remained cordoned off with yellow police tape yesterday. They said family members kept to themselves, other than to say hello if they encountered other residents on the street.
\"I'm disgusted by this,\" said Jim, a next-door neighbour. \"It's about time people stopped telling others how to live their lives. It's not meant to be an insult to this family. It can be said for people all over the world.
\"The sad part is that a 16-year-old girl has died.
\"You can't tell what goes on in people's homes. I didn't really know them, but they seemed like a nice, normal family.
\"There might have been a situation where people could have helped and that's kind of bothersome.\"
Few residents on the street even recalled seeing Aqsa, who, according to friends, had been living at another girl's house for at least the past two weeks but had been in and out of the family home for several months.
Aqsa's father worked as a driver for Blue & White taxi, but numerous drivers questioned yesterday said they didn't know the man.
One driver said he was aware who he was, but could only say that he \"kept his cab clean.\"
A Peel police source said it's believed the deadly assault took place just before her father called 911 at about 8 a.m. on Monday.
At the home, a police source said Aqsa was discovered barely alive in her bedroom.
She was taken to a nearby hospital but later transferred to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, where she remained on life support for several hours before she died.
