Accused in highrise death to appear in court Friday
The man accused of causing Ahmad Afrah to plummet 16 storeys to his death wanted to know if his family had shown up to see him when he appeared in court via video link on Thursday.
Wearing dark clothing and with his hands cuffed in front of him, Liban Gure, 29, asked the court: “Is anyone from my family there right now?” No one from his family was there. Afrah, 19, was found lying on the ground on MacLaren Street late Monday night in what is now deemed the city’s third homicide of the year. The teen later died from his severe injuries.
Homicide detectives believe the two men were fighting inside apartment 1611 at 415 MacLaren St. The physical fight spilled out onto the apartment’s balcony when, police believe, Afrah attempted to flee Gure by climbing over the balcony.
A neighbour who lives below the unit thinks Afrah may have been trying to land on his balcony.
When told that he would appear in court in person Friday after being able to speak with his lawyer, who was busy with another matter Thursday, Gure said: “That’s not my permanent lawyer. I might get a different lawyer.”
Gure was ordered not to communicate with a list of people believed to be witnesses in the case. “Who are these?” he asked the court after the list was read out to him.
Gure has several theft convictions dating back to 2006. A drug charge against him was withdrawn in 2016.
He was arrested Wednesday evening and has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault in Afrah’s death. Neither Afrah nor Gure lived in the building.