Ottawa man found guilty of first-degree murder in 2021 death of his wife

An Ottawa man has been found guilty of first-degree murder for the 2021 death of his estranged wife and the attempted murder of their daughter at a home in Ottawa's west end.

A jury delivered the guilty verdicts for first degree and attempted murder at the trial for Hamid Ayoub Tuesday morning at the Elgin Street Courthouse. The jury began deliberations Monday afternoon, and the verdict was reached Tuesday morning.

Ottawa police were called to the scene on Baseline Road near Navaho Drive on June 15, 2021. Hanadi Mohamed, 50, died from her injuries in hospital.

"This was a great verdict. This was a horrific crime that impacted the community, but impacted two young adults," said Det. Chris Benson of the Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit.

"Hanadi came to Canada with her family to find peace from Sudan, instead she found horror at the hands of her partner."

The judge imposed a life sentence on Ayoub with no chance of parole for 25 years for first degree murder, and a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years for attempted murder, to be served concurrently.

The fact was not disputed that Ayoub intended to kill his estranged wife when he stabbed her outside a home on Baseline Road before stabbing their daughter who was coming to her mother's aid.

Over the course of the trial, court heard Ayoub stabbed Mohamed when she was returning from getting groceries with their daughter. When their daughter tried to intervene to help save her mother, Ayoub stabbed his daughter 12 times. The stabbing only stopped when she played dead, the jury heard.

Ayoub was arrested at the Ottawa Hospital while seeking treatment for a cut on his hand.

The jury heard evidence Ayoub planted a Tile tracker on a vehicle used by his children. During closing arguments on Oct. 3, assistant Crown attorney Louise Tansey told the jury the tracker was one of the "tools Mr. Ayoub uses to carry out his plan to murder. The knife is the murder weapon. The [tracking device] is the beacon that led Mr. Ayoub right to his victims."

The Crown argued the killing was planned and deliberate. Ayoub's defence lawyers did not call any evidence during the trial and said the murder was an impulsive act, "not the product of a calculated scheme put into action and deliberated upon."

At the start of the trial, Ayoub pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault—a plea to lesser charges rejected by the Crown. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder.

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