‘Nothing could be more painful than this’: Court hears victim impact statements from family of Ali Mohummad

Tears fell in a Hamilton courtroom Monday as the Crown read victim impact statements on behalf of the family.

It is too hard for me to sit in a courtroom and hear details about my son's passing," read assistant Crown attorney Alannah Grady from the mother's statement. Nothing could be more painful than this. Nothing could be more painful than a mother having to bury her young son so early."

Ali Mohummad was stabbed to death in a Hamilton Mountain parking lot on July 19, 2020. The 19-year-old's brother, Hamza Chaudry, was also stabbed and two other friends hurt during the confrontation at 310 Limeridge Rd. W.

Sentencing for the two young men convicted of manslaughter in his death began Sept. 26. They were 17 at the time and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

He was the one person who I was unapologetically myself with and relied upon more than I had known," Grady read from the victim's younger sister's statement. I say these things not for pity but to make you understand everything that was stolen from me in the matter of a few minutes."

Mohummad's father, older sister and brother, and three cousins also shared in writing the impact of his death on their lives.

Though it isn't known who wielded the knife, Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel ruled June 16 that the pair were guilty because they participated in the ambush that led to Mohummad's death.

The accused were found not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of the lesser included offence of manslaughter. They were also convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and one of assault with a weapon for injuries suffered by Chaudry and two friends.

Grady said the Crown would seek to have the pair sentenced and is suggesting eight years. A youth conviction for manslaughter has a maximum sentence of three years.

A youth sentence would not be of sufficient length to hold them accountable," she said.

The accused were best friends and leaders among their peers, and used their influence to orchestrate premeditated ganglike attack" that had brewed from three prior encounters," Grady submitted.

These two 17-year-olds, on the verge of turning 18, had the means and the persuasion to enlist multiple people - upwards of 20 or 30 - to bring weapons and attack simply because they asked them to," Grady said.

The group brought numerous weapons of deadly force," including knives, metal bars, baseball bats, Tasers, rocks and boulders, she said.

This was a planned and co-ordinated attack," Grady said. The evidence was clear that the two were in control at all times and directing the parties that they recruited."

Grady also asked the judge to consider post-offence behaviour. One of the accused, she said, displayed a narrow and narcissistic thought process," concerned with the prospect of a lengthy sentence when he had plans to pursue a trade and showed no signs that he was reflecting on the gravity of what happened." The other accused declined to participate" in presentencing reports used to learn about the accused's background, and physical and mental health.

There's no evidence whatsoever to indicate any demonstration of remorse or taking responsibility," Grady said.

Zabel ordered a collateral source presentence report - which can be completed without co-operation of the accused, using interviews with family and other tools - for one of the accused, required under the YCJA.

The sentencing hearing will continue Tuesday with submissions from the defence.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com