The First Honor Killing of the Year

Actually, it was the first homicide of the year in London, Ontario.

The first killing of the year in London was, by all appearances, an honor killing.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this news video:


Below are excerpts from the accompanying London Free Press article:

A father of three is accused of stabbing his wife to death in London’s first homicide of 2012.

Chawki El-Birani, 53, is facing a second-degree murder charge after police found his wife, Sonia, 50, suffering from stab wounds inside the couple’s south London home late Wednesday.

She was pronounced dead at London Health Sciences Centre, her husband due back in court Friday after briefly appearing Thursday and asking for an Arabic language interpreter.

Jade Ashford, 36, was watching TV inside her Archer Cres. home around 11:30 p.m. when she heard “terrified” screams coming from outside.

At first she thought it was teenagers horsing around. But as the screams continued “too close to the house for comfort,” Ashford knew something was wrong.

“When it didn’t stop right away, it became that different, terrified, something’s dreadfully-wrong scream,” she said.

She looked outside and saw two young women, both in their late teens to early 20s, in front of the house directly across the street.

One of the two was standing near the home’s front door with her hand covering her mouth, crying, she said.

And here’s more from Metro News:

Ryan Mitchell was getting ready for an overnight shift at work when he peaked out a window of his south London home Wednesday and saw chaos unfolding.

“There were cop cars everywhere,” Mitchell, 20, said.

The man who lives across the street — 4 Archer Cres. — was being led toward a waiting cruiser in handcuffs. Two women — who Mitchell believes are the man’s daughters — were standing in the front yard.

“(They) were screaming, ‘I hate you!’” to the man in police custody, Mitchell said.

Moments later, near midnight, a woman was wheeled out of the house on a stretcher, other neighbours said. Paramedics were performing chest compressions as she was loaded into an ambulance.

Police are investigating the incident as the city’s first homicide of 2012.

Chawki El-Birani, 53, of 4 Archer Cres., has been charged with second-degree murder of his wife, Sonia El-Birani, 50.

Sonia El-Birani was pronounced dead at London Health Sciences Centre after police found her in the home with multiple stab wounds. The autopsy has not been completed.

Neighbours said the family — described as a man, woman and two young adults — have lived in the home for several years.

They, like most families on the street, kept to themselves, several people said.

“We were pretty shocked,” one woman said about the scene that played out Wednesday evening. “You get the odd (police) car that goes down the street … (but) this neighbourhood’s very quiet.”

Yes, the neighborhood was pretty quiet — until Islam moved in.


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