KINGSTON, ON - Testimony at the ongoing trial for three people accused of killing members of their own family has raised questions about the process that protects those at risk for attack.
On Tuesday two social workers described how 19-year-old Zanaib Shafia sought refuge in a women's shelter.
Zanaib complained that she had been picked on by her father and younger brother Hamed who attempted to stop her from attending school or dating her boyfriend Ammar Wahib.
Hamed reported his sister Zainab missing. When police arrived at the St-Leonard home, younger sisters Geete and Sahar complained of the brutality in their home. They hushed up, however, when Hamed came to the door.
Police and social workers did not pursue the situation any further.
Zanaib's boyfriend Ammar testified that Mohammed Shafia was angered by his daughter's flight into shelter and punishment ensued.
Mohammad Shafia, 58, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, and their son Hamed are accused of killing Shafia's first wife Rona Amir Mohammad,50, and three of the Shafia girls, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17 and Geeti, 13.
The four deceased were found in a car that sank in the Kingston Canal.
The accused say Zainab had taken the car out for a joyride, but prosecutors argue that the Shafias used another car to push the four women to their deaths.
On Wednesday it is expected that there will be further discussion as to why the system did not do more to respond to the women's complaints.
With files from The Canadian Press
