Shafia murder trial resumes after “security threat”
Posted January 26, 2012 6:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
KINGSTON, Ont. – Closing arguments in the Shafia family murder trial were put on hold for a few hours after the courthouse was evacuated following a bomb threat, Thursday.
Kingston Police Constable Steve Koopman said the trial was abruptly halted around 9:40 a.m. after they received a phone call from court security.
“There was a security issue, a security concern. They contacted us, obviously we attended. We have cordoned and evacuated the Superior Court House at this point in time,” he explained.
Michael Frisolanti of Macleans Magazine told 680News he was in the gallery at the time.
“Everybody inside the building was told to leave very quickly, no reasons.”
While police would only say there was a ”security concern,” a source told The Canadian Press the reason for the evacuation was a bomb threat.
The canine unit was called in and the three accused were moved off site.
When the proceedings finally resumed, four police officers were posted in the courtroom.
Justice Robert Maranger assured the jury the Crown will finish its closing arguments today and, after an early start Friday, he will take the whole day to give his final instructions to the jury.
The verdict will be in the jury’s hands tomorrow afternoon or early evening.
Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, have each pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.
They are accused of killing teenage Shafia daughters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Shafia’s first wife in his polygamous marriage.
