Former boyfriend accused in disappearance of missing woman seeks bail
After eight hours of deliberations on Thursday, Mohamad Lilo’s bail hearing will resume on Monday in Barrie to determine whether the former boyfriend of Elnaz Hajtamiri should be released from jail.
Lilo, who was arrested last month in the Montreal area, is charged with attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and kidnapping related to the disappearance of Hajtamiri; who hasn’t been seen or heard from since Jan. 12.
Police say Hajtamiri was forcibly taken from a Wasaga Beach home, where she had been in hiding, by three men posing as police officers in a white Lexus SUV.
According to investigators, Hajtamiri was assaulted with a frying pan weeks earlier in an underground parking garage in Richmond Hill. Her family says she sustained serious injuries to her head and required more than 30 stitches. The alleged attempted abduction was thwarted when a passerby witnessed two men trying to take her away and interfered.
Police arrested one man in Brampton in April. Riyasat Singh is charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping, among other offences. His co-accused is Harshdeep Binner; he remains on the loose with a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
- Mohamad Lilo seeks bail after being charged in Elnaz Hajtamiri disappearance
- Latest developments in the Elnaz Hajtamiri investigation
CTV News has confirmed both Singh and Binner were arrested in late March by police in Edmonton following an investigation into the theft of about 40 Ford F-150 pickup trucks. They were released after being charged with vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and possession of break-in instruments.
All along, Ontario Provincial Police investigators said Lilo, who was initially charged with criminal harassment about a week after Hajtamiri’s disappearance, has offered little help to police.
Six months after Hajtamiri’s disappearance, Lilo was arrested, charged and flown by police to Ontario on July 12. He’s been in custody since. The 35-year-old accused’s lawyer, Philippe Grenier, maintains his client’s innocence as he seeks his release pending a trial conducted in the French language.
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