Students and staff at Applewood Heights Secondary School set up a memorial table today for 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez. The teen was killed Monday in her family's home. Her father has been charged with murder.
Students and staff at Applewood Heights Secondary School set up a memorial table today for 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez. The teen was killed Monday in her family's home. Her father has been charged with murder.
By: Louie Rosella
December 11, 2007 - Friends of Aqsa Parvez said she feared for her life in the days prior to her murder.
The 16-year-old Applewood Heights Secondary School student was strangled on Monday morning inside her family's Longhorn Trail home.
Friends of the teen say she feared for her life and had been embroiled in a cultural dispute with family members in the weeks before her death.
Parvez, a Grade 11 student, was rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where she succumbed to her injuries late Monday night, Peel Regional Police said.
Parvez's father, 57-year-old Muhammad Parvez, has been charged with murder. He'll appear in court tomorrow.
The victim's 26-year-old brother, Waqas Parvez, is charged with obstructing police.
Police aren't ruling out additional charges.
Police said that just before 8 a.m. on Monday, a 9-1-1 call was allegedly placed by a man who indicated that he had just killed his daughter. Police rushed to a home near Hurontario St. and Bristol Rd., where a teenage girl was found dead in her bedroom.
Police wouldn't comment on her injuries, but a source close to the case said the girl was strangled.
The News spoke with several students at Applewood today. They said their friend, known by those close to her as "Axe," feared her father and had argued with him over her desire to shun the hijab, a traditional shoulder-length head scarf worn by females in devout Muslim families.
Ashley Garbutt, 16, said Parvez was so afraid, that she recently moved out and was living with a friend.
She had returned home late Sunday night to pick up clothes, friends said.
Police aren't saying what time Parvez was attacked.
"She said she was always scared of her dad...and, normally, she's not scared of nobody," said Garbutt.
Ebonie Mitchell, 16, and other friends said Aqsa wore the hijab to school last year, but rebelled against wearing it this fall.
They said she would leave home wearing the traditional garment and loose clothing, but would often change into tighter garments at school.
"She was really into fashion," Mitchell said.
Another classmate and close friend, Dominiquia Holmes-Thompson, said Parvez "got threatened" in the past year during her tumultuous relationship with members of her family.
Carla Gianetti said Parvez's father imposed several restrictions on his daughter, all in the name of religion. Parvez couldn't take it anymore and threatened to move out, she said.
"He wouldn't let her go out. He wouldn't let her socialize and she rebelled. She wanted to go out with her friends; just be like a normal person," Gianetti said.
Staff members at the school were aware of the "conflict" between Parvez and members of her family and were working with them to resolve the issues and "bridge the gap," said Peel
District School Board spokesperson Sylvia Link.
"They were trying to connect (Aqsa and her family) with support services in the community," she said, adding school staff had no idea of the extent of the conflict.
Hundreds of students signed a memorial book in the school foyer yesterday. Several left messages of how they remember the teen.
"Aqsa was honestly the brightest girl around," one student wrote. "She had the biggest smile and was the happiest person in school. She loved to dance and take pictures."
Grief counsellors were at the school yesterday helping students deal with the tragedy. Several sobbed uncontrollably outside the school.
"Aqsa was a well-liked Grade 11 student here at Applewood Heights, and her death is deeply felt by everyone at the school," said principal Ted Byers. "Even students who did not personally know Aqsa have been affected by this tragedy."
Parvez's father has been a cab driver for Mississauga-based Blue & White Taxi for the past several years.
"He was a normal-type guy," said one Blue & White cabbie who asked that his name not be used. "He was pleasant enough, always kept his vehicle nice and clean. He was a devout Muslim."
The family moved into the home on Longhorn Trail about three years ago, neighbours said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call them at 905-453-2121, ext. 3205 or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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