Canal deaths accused make court appearance
Montreal couple and son enter no pleas on murder charges
Last Updated: Thursday, August 6, 2009 | 5:35 PM ET
CBC News
Tooba Mohammad Yehya, left, her son Hamid Mohammad Shafia, centre, and his father, Mohammad Shafia, are brought to court in Kingston, Ont., two weeks ago. (CBC)A Montreal couple and their son did not enter pleas or seek bail when they made separate video appearances in a Kingston, Ont., court Thursday on first-degree murder charges.
Mohammed Shafia, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yehya and their son Hamid, 18, are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
They were charged last month after the bodies of Hamid's three sisters and Shafia's first wife were found in a submerged car in the Rideau Canal northeast of Kingston on June 30.
The three accused have hired new lawyers, who said Thursday they have received no disclosure of evidence from police.
The accused are due back in court for another video appearance Aug. 14.
The father and son were expressionless during their brief appearances, but the mother appeared distraught, constantly biting her lip.
Mohammad Shafia is being held at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Both Tooba and Hamid are being held at Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, just west of Kingston.
Kingston police allege the three plotted to kill the couple's three daughters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13. They're also charged in the death of Rona Amir Mohammed, 50, Shafia's first wife.
Their bodies were found on the morning of June 30 in a submerged car at the Kingston Mills locks on the Rideau Canal.
Until this week, each of the accused had individual legal representation by lawyers in Montreal. This week it emerged that they have dismissed their Montreal counsel in favour of lawyers in Kingston.
The couple have three other children, all under age 16. They're being looked after by child protection authorities in Montreal.
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