Lengthy jail terms for ‘vicious’ beating death
Three men convicted in the beating death of a Calgary man were each handed double-digit prison terms Monday.
Justice Karen Horner handed brothers Julius and Theo Wheyee sentences of 15 and 12 years respectively while dishing out a 17-year term to Saad Osman, who she determined was the ringleader.
Horner convicted Osman and the Wheyee brothers of manslaughter in July in connection with the Sept. 18, 2015 beating death of Mohammed Saqib.
The trio had been charged with second-degree murder, but the Court of Queen’s Bench judge determined she couldn’t say for sure they intended Saqib to die or suffer grievous bodily harm, necessary for a murder conviction.
In her written decision, Horner said Saqib died of blood loss due to blunt trauma injury at the hands of one, two, or all three accused, while they worked in concert.
But she wasn’t able to determine where Saqib died, whether that was at the Wheyee brothers’ northeast Calgary home in the Pineridge community, en route to where his body was left along RR 283 north of the city, or at the scene, where his charred remains were found in the trunk of his burned Audi.
Horner determined that Saqib was taken to the Wheyees’ residence and beaten because Osman was angry that he had advanced him $4,000 days earlier to buy cocaine but he failed to do so.
She said the three men confined Saqib in the basement laundry room of the Wheyees’ home, where he was beaten in an attempt to get him to cough up cash or other valuables.
Crown prosecutor Doug Taylor, who had argued the offenders intended to kill Saqib, sought life sentences for Osman and Julius Wheyee.
Taylor sought a 13- to 16-year sentence for Theo Wheyee, allowing that his youthfulness made him less culpable.
But Horner said the maximum sentence for Osman, who was 28 at the time of the crime, and Julius Wheyee, then 30, would be excessive.
Defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli sought a lesser sentence for the older Wheyee, while defence counsel Andrea Urquhart pushed for a five-year term for the younger brother.
Osman, who represented himself during the trial, did not specify what he thought would be an appropriate punishment.
Horner found he was the driving force behind the confinement and killing of Saqib.
“This was a vicious crime,” Horner said.
She noted Saqib was held and beaten over the course of several hours.
“Saqib was then transported in the trunk of his car, likely dead, at this time.”