A Quebec man should serve 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of his eldest daughter and two years in prison for strangling his wife, a Crown prosecutor says.
The judge in the Kamaljit Arora trial heard the sentencing arguments Thursday at the Laval courthouse, Noovo Info reported.
In March, a jury found Arora, 49, guilty of the two charges. Jurors also convicted him of first-degree murder in the deaths of his 11-year-old son and his 13-year-old daughter. The father was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the two killings.
The Crown is also asking for the father to submit a sample of his DNA and for him to be banned from contacting his eldest daughter, his ex-wife, and members of their extended family.
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According to the prosecution, there are several aggravating factors in the case, including the fact that the crime was committed against his intimate partner, the father abused his position of trust and authority over his victims, and the impact of the crime on his surviving daughter.
Meanwhile, Arora’s defence lawyer is seeking a sentence of between two and four years for attempted murder.
He has been held in custody since the family tragedy happened on Oct. 17, 2022, in their home in the Saint-Dorothée district of Laval.
At the beginning of the trial, he admitted he tied up his two kids before drowning them, but argued it was not premeditated.
It was his eldest daughter who made the gruesome discovery before her mother arrived on scene shortly after.
Surviving daughter going through a ‘nightmare’
According to Noovo Info, the daughter who survived, who cannot be named because her identity is shielded by a publication ban, provided a victim impact statement on Thursday, telling the court that she never imagined something like this could happen and that more than three years after the tragedy, she has nightmares and struggles to fall asleep.
“As their sister, finding them like that that day was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I hate that I was the one who had to discover them and call for help. The worst part is that it was too late,” she told Superior Court Justice Alexandre Bien-Aimé Bastien.
“It’s a real nightmare to go through. Not just for me, but also for my mother and my entire extended family. They’re still in distress. [...] They were so innocent and didn’t deserve any of this. [...] I’m trying to move forward, but the pain is still there. In any case, I don’t think you should have decided who lived and who died.”
‘I die every day,’ father says in court
Her father also addressed the courtroom on Thursday.
“I die every day. [...] Those children were mine and no one else’s. They were part of my heart,” Arora said.
Arora has appealed his guilty verdict. “Who still believes in my innocence?” he asked on Thursday.
“I’ve never killed a cockroach in my life, and now I’m accused of killing my own children. [...] The 25-year sentence means nothing to me compared to what I’m going through right now,” he added.
Justice Bien-Aimé Bastien will render his sentencing decision for the charges of attempted murder and strangulation on June 1.
With files from Noovo Info and The Canadian Press
