A Toronto neurosurgeon is in custody after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, whose body was found in Kleinburg on Thursday.
The suspect appeared in court at Old City Hall in Toronto on Saturday morning, where his case was put aside until Dec. 20 at 10 a.m.
The suspect was wearing a white jumpsuit during the brief appearance and spoke softly in the affirmative when asked by the judge whether he understood the proceedings.
Accused was arrested at coffee shop
The suspect was arrested at a coffee shop in Mississauga on Friday afternoon, just one day after the body of his wife Elana Fric Shamji was discovered near a roadway in Kleinburg.
Det. Sgt. Steve Ryan previously told CP24 that investigators believe Shamji, 40, was killed in her home, located in North York, sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Shamji and her husband had three children together, according to police.
In a statement provided to CP24 on Saturday morning, a spokesperson for the University Health Network called the homicide “shocking and saddening.”
“The organization is sad about the whole situation. Our work is with the patients and families. That is being done,” Gillian Howard said. “We will have another neurosurgeon for all of the families and patients affected. This is now a police matter"
The suspect, identified as Mohammed Shamji, worked as a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital. Shamji was also employed as a Professor of Surgery at The University of Toronto. A biography posted to the University of Toronto website says that Shamji completed research around the “role of immune system activation in spinal and peripheral nerve disorders and how these potentiate the development of chronic pain.” Shamji had a research laboratory at the Hospital for Sick Children, according to the release.
