WINDSOR \u2013 Just two years into Elana Fric-Shamji\u2019s marriage, the popular Toronto doctor\u2019s husband \u2014 now accused of her murder \u2014 was charged with threatening and assaulting her, court records show.<\/p>\n
The documents obtained by the Windsor Star reveal Ottawa police alleged Mohammed Shamji assaulted her and threatened to cause bodily harm to her and the couple\u2019s oldest daughter in May 2005.<\/p>\n
The charges were withdrawn in July 2005 on the same day Shamji, a neurosurgeon, signed a court order in which he admitted Fric-Shamji, who grew up in the Windsor area, \u201cfears on reasonable grounds\u201d that he would \u201ccause personal injury to her\u201d and \u201cdid use inappropriate actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The order, known as a peace bond, was put in place for a year and prohibited Shamji from going within 200 metres of his wife\u2019s home \u201cunless with her consent and under her conditions.\u201d He could not possess any weapons and was required to continue \u201ccounselling and treatment\u201d with a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n
The couple was living in Ottawa at the time.<\/p>\n
Liam O\u2019Conner, the lawyer representing Shamji in the murder case, declined to comment on the 2005 charges and court order.<\/p>\n
Fric-Shamji\u2019s body was found inside a suitcase not far from the couple\u2019s Toronto area home on Dec. 1. Her mother had reported her missing the previous day.<\/p>\n
Her husband, who was under police surveillance before his arrest, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Dec. 2, said Toronto police Det-Sgt. Steve Ryan, who described the case as \u201cawful\u201d and \u201cterribly sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto police were aware of the charges filed in Ottawa in 2005, he said.<\/p>\n
On Friday, police were looking for any evidence left behind at the spot where Fric-Shamji\u2019s body was discovered in a suitcase in a shallow part of the Humber River, Ryan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still missing property,\u201d he said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t located a brown Coach purse and an iPhone\u201d along with the victim\u2019s car keys.<\/p>\n
Fric-Shamji\u2019s body showed signs of strangulation and blunt force trauma, but it is too early to say if domestic violence played a role in her death, Ryan said.<\/p>\n
Just days before her body was discovered Fric-Shamji, 40, told medical colleagues at a meeting that she had filed for a divorce and was looking forward to a fresh start for herself and her children.<\/p>\n
At the time of Fric-Shamji\u2019s death she and Shamji, also 40, had three children who police say are now being cared for by their grandmother.<\/p>\n
Speaking generally, Betty Jo Barrett, an associate professor of social work and women\u2019s studies at the University of Windsor, said the days after a woman asks for a divorce can be the most dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome relationships, where there has never been physical violence, escalate to physical violence when a woman is leaving because the perpetrator realizes what they\u2019re doing isn\u2019t working, so they have to escalate to keep their sense of power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Barrett has studied domestic abuse for the past 10 years. In many cases, those close to abuse survivors are surprised to learn the extent of the violence involved because they never see it or hear about it from the victims, she said.<\/p>\n
Previous charges are \u201ca big risk factor\u201d that there could be more violence in the future, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften times what will happen is there will be domestic violence (and) they\u2019ll try to leave. Then the perpetrator will try and convince them it was a one-time thing,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce the woman drops charges or agrees to be in the relationship again the perpetrator will be on good behaviour until things start to escalate again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting a peace bond was evidence of Fric-Shamji seeking help, Barrett said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Nadia Alam, a family doctor in Georgetown, met Fric-Shamji during an Ontario Medical Association meeting just months before she was killed.<\/p>\n
Her popular colleague\u2019s death has changed her perspective as a physician, said Alam, who plans to include regular screenings for all her patients to bring up healthy and unhealthy relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cIntimate partner violence, domestic violence, family violence \u2014 it\u2019s a huge issue,\u201d she said. \u201cI want positive change to come out of this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday Fric-Shamji\u2019s family issued a statement thanking the public, Toronto police and members of the OMA who shared memories of her through social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe miss her greatly and these memories mean a great deal to all of us today and every day,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n
To honour Fric-Shamji\u2019s memory, the family is asking donations be made to the Canadian Centre for Immigrant and Refugee Health Care, a cause she was passionate about, and The Shelter Movers of Toronto, described as an organization that \u201cprovides safe, respectful moving services at no cost to persons fleeing abusive households.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fric-Shamji\u2019s death draws attention to the fact that there\u2019s no \u201cperfect, mystical abuse victim,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n
In most cases women who are being abused will seek help from friends or co-workers rather than trained professionals, she said. \u201cWhen you know of these situations be present, be affirmative, be non-judgmental. Those small things can literally save a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
By:\u00a0DAN TAEKEMA, POSTMEDIA NEWS<\/p>\n
Source:\u00a0The Province.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"