Trial underway for Ottawa man accused of murdering wife, injuring daughter

A warning this story contains disturbing details.

The trial of a man accused of stabbing his wife to death in an attack that also injured his daughter in Ottawa's west end in June 2021 is underway.

Hamid Ayoub is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. 

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.

A GoFundMe page launched on behalf of Mohamed's children said she was born in Sudan and came to Canada "in search of a better life."

Hanadi Mohamed was returning to her residence on Baseline Road after grocery shopping with her 22-year-old daughter in June of 2021 when her estranged husband started "unleashing a brutal attack" that ultimately killed her and severely injured their daughter, assistant Crown attorney Cecilia Bouzane alleged in her opening statements at the murder trial of Hamid Ayoub on Tuesday.

Ayoub is charged with the first-degree murder of Mohamed and the attempted murder of their daughter whom CTV News is not naming.

On Monday, the day of jury selection, Ayoub pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault—a plea that was rejected by the Crown and why the first-degree murder trial is proceeding as planned.

Bouzane told the jury it will hear evidence about a "long history of abuse" as the Crown outlines its case against Ayoub. Those who will be called to testify include the children Mohamed shared with Ayoub. The Crown stated Mohamed had made reports to police about Ayoub in the past and in a 2013 interview with police said, "all she wanted was peace."

"Mr. Ayoub destroyed any chance of that peace," Benzane said.

Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips told the jury that Ayoub is presumed innocent, and the Crown must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Crown says Mohamed left Ayoub in August 2020 and cut off all contact. She asked those closest to her not to share where she was living, and the Crown alleges Ayoub hid a tracking device in the vehicle used by their children, which was how he found her.

Court heard Ayoub parked at the Circle K parking lot down the street from the residence before he allegedly attacked the women before they were able to get into their home.

The Crown alleges Mohamed was stabbed 23 times with a knife and suffered fatal injuries to her neck, head, torso and back.

Bouzane said the couple's daughter, "in an act of sheer bravery tried to save her mother's life" by trying to intervene and that's when Ayoub "turned on his daughter, stabbing her over and over all over her body."

Despite her injuries, Bouzane said the daughter played dead and the attack stopped.

Several people witnessed what happened and rushed to help.

A witness in an Uber said she saw the altercation—it looked like people were fist fighting at first. She said the driver pulled over when they realized the man had a knife.

"Before the man ran away his arm raised up and we saw he had something sharp," she said.

They approached the women on the ground.

"He was making a stabbing motion down towards the women," she told court. "I remember there being a lot of blood and who I assume was the mother was unconscious."

Another witness, who recorded video of a man jogging away from the scene and who she identified as the defendant, testified she heard yelling and saw women on the ground from her window.

"Did you see him make any efforts to conceal his face?" Ayoub's defence lawyer Leo Russomanno asked her on cross-examination.

"No," she replied.

"You never saw him throw any items away?"

"No."

The trial continues Wednesday and is expected to last five weeks.  

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