The older brother of a girl who was strangled to death last December inside her family's Mississauga home has been charged with murder after relatives and close friends provided Peel Regional Police with new information.
Today, Waqas Parvez, 27, joined his father, Muhammad Parvez, 57, in facing a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Aqsa Parvez, 16, a Grade 11 student at Applewood Heights Secondary School.
The father was initially facing a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his daughter, but Peel police and Peel's Crown Attorney decided earlier this month to upgrade the charge.
Peel police sources indicated Friday that family members, some of whom were in the home when Aqsa Parvez was attacked, were re-interviewed in the past four weeks and provided investigators with additional information that led to the more serious charges against the teen's brother and father.
A first-degree murder charge alleges Parvez's death was deliberate and pre-meditated.
Waqas Parvez's lawyer, Brian Crothers, said his client's family has been supportive.
"It boggles my mind that he's been charged seven months after the incident," Crothers said Friday outside Brampton court, where his client made a brief appearance. "He is still grieving his sister's death."
Last Dec. 10, Aqsa Parvez was rushed from her family's Longhorn Trail home to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto with life-threatening injuries. She succumbed to her injuries later that night.
An autopsy revealed she was strangled to death, police said.
The high-profile case garnered international attention. Friends of the slain teen said she feared for her life and had been threatened by family members over a religious dispute in the weeks prior to her death.
They said their friend, known by those close to her as "Axe," had argued with her father over several cultural issues and her desire to shun the hijab, a traditional head scarf worn by females in devout Muslim families.
Staff at Applewood Heights were aware of the "conflict" between Aqsa and members of her family and were working with them to try to resolve the issues and "bridge the gap," said a Peel District School Board spokesperson.
The teen had moved out and was living with a friend, but had returned home the night before her death to pick up clothes, friends said.
Police said that just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 10, a 9-1-1 call was placed by a man who indicated that he had just killed his daughter. Officers responded to a Hurontario St./Bristol Rd. area home, where the victim was found in her bedroom.
One day later, Muhammad Parvez was charged with murder.
- with files from Louie Rosella
lrosella@mississauga.net
