Six months have passed since two women were murdered in a Penbrooke area home and one family says they are frustrated because the trial for the accused killer has been stalled by his inability to retain a lawyer.
In the early evening of May 4, police were called to a home in the 6400 block of Penbrooke Drive S.E. for reports of a stabbing.
When emergency crews arrived they found one woman dead and rushed another woman to hospital where she later died. A third woman was also taken to hospital and later released.
An autopsy was conducted and concluded that Fahmida Velji-Visram, 29, and Sanjula Devi, 36, both of Calgary, died from stab wounds.
Hari Pal, 52, of Calgary, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault in connection to the homicides.
He was the estranged husband of Devi and was initially taken to hospital with self-inflicted injuries from ingesting some kind of liquid.
The trial was put on hold while Pal worked to prove that he qualified for legal aid to get a lawyer.
"It's poorly funded and there are a lot of people who need legal aid services," said Andre Ouellette, defense lawyer. “This I can say. Over the last ten years the amount of self-represented people in the court system has dramatically increased. In my mind at least by a hundred to three hundred percent.”
The delay has been very hard on the families of the victims.
Fahmida Velji-Visram’s brother says he misses his sister and he is frustrated that the trial has yet to begin.
"I'm pissed off. The justice system is taking a lot longer than I would have thought," said Farouk Velji.
Farouk says not having justice for his sister has made the six month anniversary of her death even worse, but on Tuesday, the families finally got some welcome news.
Legal aid was approved and a lawyer was finally assigned to the accused, Hari Pal.
“Excellent so at least something is going on. It took six months but at least it’s done and it’s a good day today to hear that information. On a day we remember her we know she is doing that from up there,” said Velji.
"This is difficult for both sides, Mr. Pal is in custody, the victim's family or the complainant's families are awaiting some form of resolution," said Ouellette.
Pal will be back in court later this month with his new lawyer.
Last week, the government announced a $5.5 M boost to legal aid and lowered the threshold for qualifying.
(With files from Brad MacLeod)
