Bail denied for Toronto neurosurgeon accused of killing his doctor wife
Justice Michael Brown handed down the decision in a Toronto courtroom Wednesday afternoon
A judge has denied bail for Mohammed Shamji, the Toronto neurosurgeon accused of killing his physician wife.
Justice Michael Brown handed down the decision in a packed room at Superior Court in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon. The reasons for Brown's decision are under a publication ban.
Shamji, 40, was clean-shaven and dressed in a grey suit and remained stoic during more than one hour of court proceedings, including when the judge read out his decision. Members of his family, however, appeared anxious. They did not speak to reporters as they left the courthouse.
Last week, Shamji, 40, appeared at the courthouse at 361 University Ave., along with his lawyers, for a bail review. The details of those proceedings are covered by the publication ban.
The neurosurgeon has been in custody since his arrest in December on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Elana Fric, a Scarborough-based family physician and mother of the couple's three children.
The 40-year-old's body was discovered in a suitcase near an underpass in Vaughan, Ont. She died from strangulation and blunt-force trauma.
If Shamji had been granted bail, he would have been unable to return to neurosurgery because he is no longer licensed in Ontario, according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Shamji not permitted to practice medicine 'in any capacity'
That would have included consulting on cases.
Shamji was an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and a staff neurosurgeon with Toronto Western Hospital. Following his arrest, the University Health Network notified the college that his privileges were suspended, as of Dec. 5, 2016.
Then, on Aug. 10 of this year, his registration with the college expired.
Should Shamji ever wish to practice again, he would have to apply for a licence and meet all current registration requirements, college spokesperson Kathryn Clarke said, including that his conduct shows he is "mentally competent to practice medicine" and that he would practice with "decency, integrity and honesty and in accordance with the law."
Fric met Shamji during her medical school days at the University of Ottawa while he was there for a neurosurgery residency.
Fric's death and her husband's arrest — which rocked Ontario's medical community and sparked discussions of domestic violence — is not Shamji's first brush with the law.
As CBC Toronto previously reported, he was charged with one count of assault and two counts of uttering death threats in 2005, and Fric was the complainant.
In July of that year, the Crown agreed to withdraw the charges in return for a peace bond.