Kitchener senior admits he killed his son with a hammer

Crown accepts guilty plea to manslaughter because killer was provoked

KITCHENER — A day after saying his son should die, an elderly Kitchener man brutally killed him with a hammer, court was told on Tuesday.

Ajit Kohar, 79, was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Gurpal Kohar, 48, but the Crown accepted a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter because he was provoked.

Around 6 p.m. on Jan. 25 of last year, the older Kohar had been using a claw hammer to do a repair in the house on Marianne Dorn Trail, near Brigadoon Park in Kitchener. He lived there with his son, his son’s wife and their two sons.

The accused turned around to see his drunk son standing nearby holding a screwdriver.

“The deceased and Mr. Kohar had a heated verbal exchange, during which Mr. Kohar understood that his son was threatening to kill him and the family,” said Crown prosecutor Alanna Fedak-Tarnopolsky, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

The accused was provoked, causing him to “lose his selfcontrol and he immediately and intentionally began striking his son with the hammer,” Fedak-Tarnopolsky said.

He hit him at least once in the head. When his son fell to a sitting position on a couch, he struck him in the head with the hammer multiple times.

“Gurpal fell onto his side while Ajit Kohar continued to strike him in the head with the hammer,” Fedak-Tarnopolsky said. “Gurpal then fell to the floor at the base of the couch, where the attack continued to its conclusion.”

The killer left his son lying face down in a large pool of blood. He dropped the hammer beside the body.

No one else was home at the time of the killing. The victim’s sons and their two cousins arrived shortly after. The accused spoke to them before they went in.

“Mr. Kohar told them not to enter the house and that their father may be dead,” the Crown said. “Mr. Kohar told the group that the deceased had threatened to kill him and had attacked him.”

Ajit Kohar had no injuries except for light bruises on the back of his hands.

One of the victim’s sons called 911. Gurpal was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Gurpal had “significant trauma” to his face and head. “There was brain matter visible outside of the deceased’s body,” Fedak-Tarnopolsky said.

Gurpal was an alcoholic who had been drinking almost nonstop for a week leading up to his death. His alcoholism was “a source of friction within the family,” court was told.

An autopsy found he had 331 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, more than four times the legal driving limit.

On the day before he was killed, Gurpal called 911 to say he had been drinking too much and needed an ambulance.

The accused told paramedics “his son was causing a lot of problems with the family,” the Crown said. He was overheard saying his son “should die, or the hospital should let him die.”

Gurpal was taken to St. Mary’s General Hospital, but left before being seen by a doctor. Hours later, one of Gurpal’s sons called 911 and said his dad was “really drunk” and had been yelling and screaming in the house.

Police and paramedics arrived. Gurpal was taken back to the hospital. He was discharged the next morning, the day he was killed. That afternoon, Gurpal called Grand River Hospital’s withdrawal management unit to check himself in. He stayed there only briefly before returning home.

He phoned his wife at 6 p.m. “This call was the last known contact between the deceased and anyone outside of (the house) before his death,” the Crown said.

Although identity documents show the accused is 79, he says they are incorrect and he is actually 83 or 84.

Court was told he immigrated India, where he had previfrom ously served in the military. A Punjabi interpreter translated court proceedings.

The accused, who has a long white beard and wore bright orange jail clothes in court, wasn’t asked to speak on Tuesday but blurted out, “I made a mistake.” He has no prior record. Defence lawyer Vikram Singh and the Crown will deliver sentencing submissions to Justice Melanie Sopinka on Sept. 22.