A Toronto neurosurgeon who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his physician wife has been remanded into custody until his next court appearance.
The suspect appeared in court at Old City Hall 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 body of 40-year-old Dr. Elana Fric Shamji was discovered near a roadway in Kleinburg on Thursday afternoon. The suspect was then arrested at a coffee shop in the area of Lakeshore Road East and Highway 10 in Mississauga on Friday afternoon.
Det. Sgt. Steve Ryan previously told CP24 that investigators believe she was killed in the family's home, located in North York, sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.
The couple had three children, according to police.
In a statement issued on Saturday afternoon, the Interim Chief Medical Officer of Scarborough and Rouge Hospital said that he was “shocked and saddened” by Fric Shamji's death. She worked as a family physician at the hospital.
“We send our condolences to her family and friends,” Dr. Tom Chan said. “We will be working with our team in the Department of Family and Community Medicine to have physicians ready to care for her patients.”
She was a “talented family physician who was in many efforts to improve the health-care system,” according to a statement from Ontario Medical Association President Virginia Walley.
Walley said that efforts are underway to “properly memorialize” her.
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.
In a statement provided to CP24 on Saturday morning, a spokesperson for the University Health Network called the homicide “shocking.”
“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"
