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Monday, July 29, 2019

Man, 23, charged with first-degree murder in quadruple homicide at Markham home

Man, 23, charged with first-degree murder in quadruple homicide at Markham home

York Region police have charged a man with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four people who were found dead in a home in Markham on Sunday afternoon.
Menhaz Zaman, 23, of Markham, was arrested by police at the home, on Castlemore Ave., just east of Mingay Ave., on Sunday.
Menhaz Zaman, seen in his high school graduation photo, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Menhaz Zaman, seen in his high school graduation photo, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder.  (Gilbert Ngabo / Toronto Star)
He appeared in court in Newmarket on Monday morning, and was remanded in custody. He will next appear in court Friday via video.
Zaman was wearing glasses, a black T-shirt and his black hair was short and thick. He appeared calm as he listened to the court proceedings.
The prosecutor read aloud a list of 13 people that Zaman is not allowed to contact.
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The courthouse has no record of Zaman having any previous brushes with the law.
Police had received a call just before 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon “that there were possibly multiple people injured inside the residence,” York Regional Police spokesman Const. Andy Pattenden said in a news conference Monday.
“When our officers arrived, they did find a man at the front door of the residence. That man was arrested and has been in custody ever since,” he said.
The officers who then entered the home found bodies of three adult women and one adult man, he said. The victims weren’t transported to hospital and were all still inside the two-storey brick home as of Sunday night.
The area around the home was cordoned off with yellow police tape. The front garden appears well cared for and several flower pots hung from the second-floor balcony.
“The identification process for the deceased is going to take quite some time as post-mortems need to be done by the coroner,” Pattenden told reporters.
“Once those post-mortems are complete, we will be able to advise who the deceased are.”
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Area residents gathered near the home Sunday night said it was a peaceful “close-knit community.”
Pascoal D’Souza, who lives across the street and was among those watching officers walk in and out of the home on Sunday, said it was unsettling to see such a heavy police presence in his quiet neighbourhood, where he said the residents typically “keep to themselves.”
“It’s a shock, because you never think anything like this would happen near where you live,” he said.
Const. Laura Nicolle added Monday afternoon that it doesn’t appear anyone else was involved in the deaths.
“It looks like the person responsible is in custody so we don’t believe there’s any threat to public safety,” she said.
“He’s charged and he gets his time in court.”
With files from May Warren and The Canadian Press
Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
 
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