WARNING: This story contains disturbing details and discusses self-harm
The man who killed his mother, brother, and step-father in Langley before setting their family home on fire will serve life in prison, with 15 years before he is eligible to apply for parole.
Justice Murray Blok passed sentence on Kia Ebrahimian in New Westminster Supreme Court on Monday, Dec. 19.
Ebrahimian pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder on Oct. 3, a few days after the start of his trial.
On June 13, 2020, Ebrahimian attacked and killed his mother Tatiana Bazyar, his brother Befrin, and his step-father Francesco Zangrilli.
The sentence for first or second-degree murder in Canada is automatically life, but with second-degree murder, judges may set parole eligibility anywhere between 10 and 25 years.
READ MORE: Langley man who killed three family members faces life behind bars
On Friday, Crown prosecutors and Ebrahimian’s defense lawyers put forward a proposal that he have no possibility of parole for 15 years.
Crown prosecutor Michael Fortino summarized the strife in the family home, including Ebrahimian’s clashes with his trans brother, Befrin, and long-simmering conflicts with his mother and her partner.
On Friday, Dec. 16, during the opening of the sentencing hearing, Fortino outlined the circumstances of the attack.
After stabbing all three family members, Ebrahimian doused the lower floor of the family home on Wakefield Drive with gasoline, let his dogs out, set the building on fire, and went up to his second-floor bedroom.
RCMP officers broke into the floor’s lower home and pulled out Zangrilli, but couldn’t save his life.
Ebrahimian was rescued by neighbours who noticed smoke in the home and put a ladder up to the window.
When he was taken to the RCMP headquarters in Langley, police found two knives still on his person, one of them with blood still on it. They later proved to be the murder weapons.
Ebrahimian was hospitalized with suicidal thoughts within 24 hours of the attacks, and stayed in medical care until he was formally charged a month after the murders. He has tried to kill himself multiple times while in custody over the last two years, his lawyer, Donna Turcot, told the court Friday.
In last week’s sentencing hearing, Justice Blok heard emotional victim impact statements from the family members, friends, and loved ones of all three victims.
Zangrilli’s family watched the proceedings via a video link from the Canadian consulate in Rome, Italy.
In addition to a life sentence, Blok also banned Ebrahimian from possession firearms and ordered that a DNA sample be taken.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
