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NB Telegraph-Journal | Provincial News
Article published: Sep 29, 2004

MURDER TRIAL
Bari must serve at least 25 years
Sister callesconvicted killer 'good man'

Abdul Bari, shown at left in a file photo, will not be eligible for parole until 2029. File

Abdul Bari was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for killing his estranged wife and will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

The 36-year-old Fredericton man was back in court for sentencing Tuesday, after collapsing the night before as a 12-member jury was polled for a verdict at the end of his first-degree murder trial.

Wearing a blue shirt and jeans, Mr. Bari was calm and alert on Tuesday, but he didn't glance at Justice Judy Clendening as she delivered the automatic life sentence with no chance of parole until 2029.

Mr. Bari collapsed with an apparent seizure in the prisoner's box Monday night while the jury delivered a guilty verdict on the charge of first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife Shaila Bari, a 26-year-old business student at the University of New Brunswick.

Ms. Bari was beaten and suffocated. She was found dead in her apartment July 22, 2003.

The jury deliberated for almost nine hours on Monday before bringing in its verdict.

Outside the courthouse Tuesday, Mr. Bari's sister, Kaosar Jahan, wept as she recounted the type of man she said her brother is.

"He was good man. I don't know what happened," she said.

"He's good man. He has sense of humour. He was nice with his wife. She didn't respect him. I thought they were happy."

Ms. Jahan said she didn't know whether her brother had any connection to his wife's death.

"I ask him if he knows anything, if he did anything. He didn't answer. He said how I can question my brother," she said.

Mr. Bari's lawyer, Gerald Pugh, said both he and his client were disappointed with the verdict.

"We're disappointed, obviously, with the decision. It was (a) circumstantial evidence case and we haven't decided on an appeal or not. We're going to give it some thought and discuss it with our client," he said.

On Monday, Mr. Bari sat gently rocking himself in the prisoner's box as each member of the jury of eight men and four women was asked to stand and deliver, individually, his or her verdict. He was visibly shaken while each of the first 10 members of the jury rose, and closed his eyes as the last two jurors rose to give their verdict.

Moments later, Mr. Bari collapsed and appeared to suffer a seizure, as his legs could be seen jolting repeatedly and he gasped for breath.

As the judge, jury and two prosecutors watched, two bailiffs, a police officer and two attorneys lifted Mr. Bari from the confining space of the prisoner's box to the courtroom floor.

He could be heard repeating the English phrase, "everybody lie."

Mr. Pugh said his client was still not feeling well.

"He was just overwhelmed with the verdict and he just virtually collapsed and he broke down from it. He's revived (Tuesday) morning. He's very disappointed, he's not feeling very well," he said.


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