The jury at the trial of a man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., has reached a verdict. Nathaniel Veltman, left to right, defence lawyer Peter Ketcheson, defence lawyer Christopher Hicks, crown attorney Fraser Ball, crown attorney Sarah Shaikh and members of the jury attend Veltman's trial in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, Nov.14, 2023 in a courtroom sketch. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould
WINDSOR, Ont. – The jury at the trial of a man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., has reached a verdict.
Jurors began their deliberations on Wednesday evening, after receiving final instructions from the judge.
Justice Renee Pomerance had told the jury that they had a duty is to impartially assess the evidence using the legal principles she outlined.
Veltman, 22, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
The Crown argued that Veltman carried out a terrorist act on June 6, 2021, and should be convicted on all charges.
The defence argued Veltman was not guilty of first-degree murder, nor did he commit an act of terrorism, because he didn’t have criminal intent to kill the victims and didn’t deliberately plan the attack.
The trial has heard that Veltman hit the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk on a summer evening.
Forty-six-year-old Salman Afzaal; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed in the attack, while the couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2023.
