MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN WOMAN’S DEATH BY HAMMER

A man who pleaded guilty to the terror-related killing of a Toronto woman with a hammer was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 25 years. It marked the first conviction under a Criminal Code provision that deems murder to be first degree if it is committed in the course of terrorist activity. Saad Akhtar had turned himself in after the February 2020 killing in Toronto.

He selected Hang-kam “Annie” Chiu at random but later told police his motivation was to commit a terrorist attack in the name of terror group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The case was jointly investigated by the Toronto police and the RCMP. Federal Crown attorney Jason Wakely says the offender intended to cause fear and insecurity.