Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
CTV
It’s been over two years since Cindy Ali appealed her conviction of first-degree murder in connection with the death of her 16-year-old disabled daughter. In a second trial starting this week, she will have one more chance to clear her name.
It’s been over two years since Cindy Ali appealed her conviction of first-degree murder in connection with the death of her 16-year-old disabled daughter. In a second trial starting this week, she will have one more chance to clear her name.
Cynara Ali, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, died at the age of 16-years-old in February 2011.
At Cindy’s first-degree murder trial in 2016, the Crown alleged she decided to kill her seizure-prone daughter by suffocating her with a pillow, then tried to cover up her crime by blaming a home invasion. The prosecution argued the robbery tale suggested Cindy had planned the murder.
Cindy, however, argued that two robbers forced their way into her home, and that Cynara was unconscious when they left. Her defence argued one of the men might have suffocated the girl, or that she might have had a stress-induced seizure and choked on food.
The jury in Cindy’s 2016 trial was instructed to decide whether it believed her account – other scenarios were not put to the delegation. In a total of 10 hours, it decided that the mother’s account could not be accepted as fact and found Cindy, then 45 years old, guilty of premeditated murder.
While a first-degree murder conviction usually carries with it an automatic life sentence, Ali served only four years in prison before being released on bail in 2020.
Represented by Toronto lawyers James Lockyer and Jessica Ziti, Cindy launched an appeal of the conviction, heard in 2020. The eventually successful bid faulted the trial judge's instructions to the 2016 jury.
