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Canada Panghali Found Guilty

Jan 6, 2005
3,450
3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Panghali found guilty of second-degree murder, interference with dead body

By Staff Reporter, The Province - February 4, 2011 1:03 PM






MANJIT PANGHALI

Family and friends of Manjit Panghali burst into tears when a judge found her husband, Mukhtiar Panghali, guilty of killing his pregnant wife and burning her body on a beach off Deltaport Way.


Panghali, 39, was charged with second-degree murder and interference with a dead body.


Justice Heather Holmes delivered her verdict in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster Friday.

Manjit disappeared after attending a prenatal yoga class in south Surrey on Oct. 18, 2006. She was four months pregnant with her second child. Her remains were found five days later.

An autopsy determined that the 31-year-old had been strangled to death before her body was set on fire.

During the three-week trial Crown prosecutor Dennis Murray outlined the Crown's theory that Manjit came home after her yoga class and her husband strangled her.

Murray alleged that Panghali, with or without the help of someone else, planted Manjit’s car on a Whalley street before disposing of her body.

During the trial, Murray showed video of a man entering a Chevron Town Pantry the night Manjit disappeared and purchasing a newspaper and a lighter. Witnesses identified the man as Panghali.


Murray also said Panghali’s behaviour after his wife’s disappearance — including walking out in the middle of a police interview — was indicative of an attempt to lead police astray and deflect attention from himself.

Defence lawyer Michael Tammen chose to call no witnesses but pointed out that there was no physical evidence that Mukhtiar committed the crime and no evidence of a motive.

Holmes said in her verdict that the Crown's case was entirely circumstantial.

"There is no direct evidence about what happened after Ms. Panghali drove away from the yoga studio," Holmes said.


However she said there was "powerful evidence" that Panghali was the person who killed Manjit. She also said that the fact that "considerable" force was applied to a much smaller person shows Panghali meant to cause her bodily harm or death
.
More to come.

© Copyright (c) The Province
 
Jan 6, 2005
3,450
3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
images

Mukhtiar Panghali prior to trial

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Mukhtiar Panghali during trial
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A sentencing hearing for Mukhtiar Panghali is scheduled for March 17. There is a mandatory life sentence for murder, but Crown prosecutor Dennis Murray said outside court that he will ask for more than the mandatory minimum 10 years of parole ineligibility.

Mukhtiar Panghali will not only face the physical & emotional consequences of murdering his wife Manjit & her unborn child, but also the spiritual consequences. He has to live & relive the negative karma ( HELL ) he has created. He has also created life long history for his young surviving daughter: THAT HER DAD MURDERED HER MOTHER!

Read the decision: Complete text of the judgment:
Link: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/11/01/2011BCSC0138.htm
 
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