Mental state at issue in trial of Calgary man in murder of father
Client: Zaineddin Al Aaailak
Charge: Second Degree Murder
Defence: Hepner is not disputing the Crown’s allegations, only the mental state of his client at the time of the incident
Status: Trial continues
The dismembered body of a Calgary murder victim and his severed head were discovered at a construction site south of the city, a jury was told Monday at the beginning of a local man’s trial.
Crown prosecutor Carla MacPhail, detailing the case she and co-counsel Tara Wells will call, told jurors Zaineddin Al Aalak murdered his father at the accused’s Calgary residence before cutting the body up and disposing of it in Okotoks.
MacPhail said on the morning of July 17, 2017, a worker at a construction site near the D’Arcy Ranch golf course made the gruesome discovery of Mohamed Al Aalak’s remains.
She said the worker, Miljenko Rendaric, using a track hoe, found a green plastic shopping basket on the site and moved it.
“He (then) tried to move a garbage bag that was inside that green basket. It ripped open and a human head rolled out,” MacPhail said.
RCMP were then called and discovered Al Aalak’s remains, which were transported to the medical examiner’s office in Calgary.
“The remains consisted of a human head, two arms, two legs, a torso and one hand, the left hand,” she said.
“The right hand of Mr. Al Aalak has never been located.”
Also found at the scene was the deceased’s cut-up identification.
“The cause of death was external neck compression, or in lay terms, strangulation,” she said.
“There were also other injuries before Mr. Al Aalak died from that neck compression — blunt force injuries to his head and torso.”
Zaineddin Al Aalak is charged with second-degree murder in his father’s killing.
MacPhail said while Mounties were examining the discovery of the body, Calgary police were conducting their own investigation into Mohamed Al Aalak’s disappearance.
She said the deceased had been in regular contact with his wife, who was visiting Iraq with their daughters, when he stopped communicating with her.
MacPhail said police went to the 90 Avenue S.E. townhouse on July 17, 2017, where the accused was living and found his father’s Ford Escort which he used as an Uber driver, but no sign of the deceased.
When police still could not locate him, they returned the following day and ultimately discovered a hammer and hatchet that contained the deceased’s DNA.
Later, when the accused was interviewed by homicide Det. Rey Bangloy he denied knowledge of his father’s disappearance and suggested it could be linked to a former Hamilton business partner the deceased had.
Al Aalak described the former partner as “a sketchy guy and a gangster,” MacPhail said.
In a rare defence opening address at the beginning of the trial, lawyer Alain Hepner said his client wasn’t disputing the Crown’s allegations, only his mental state at the time.
“In essence, I’m submitting to you that the question will be, ‘Is Zaineddin criminally responsible for his actions, or is he mentally ill?'” Hepner said.
The trial, being held at the Stampede Grandstand because of COVID-19 issues, is set for four weeks.
Source: Calgary Herald