The lawyer for a Langley man facing three murder charges told a judge she hasn’t been able to meet with her client in person yet since his arrest.
Kia Ebrahimian appeared by video in Surrey Court on Monday, July 20. He’s charged with second degree murder in the June 13 deaths of his sister Medea ‘Befrin’ Ebrahimian, his mother Tatiana Bazyar, and his mother’s common-law-husband Francesco Zangrilli.
Ebrahimian was arrested on July 10 and has been in custody in the Surrey Pre-Trial facility since then. This was only his second court appearance.
The accused’s lawyer, Donna Turko, said she would like to speak to her client in person, given the seriousness of the charges against him.
“I’ve been unable to actually meet with my client in person, due to the COVID,” Turko told the judge.
She asked if it was possible to have her client to appear in person on Monday, Aug. 17, his next scheduled appearance, so she could consult with her client.
The judge didn’t rule it out, but noted that might mean that Ebrahimian would have to spend a period in a quarantine ward inside Surrey Pre-Trial after the court appearance.
No decision was made on whether Ebrahimian will appear in person or not.
During the hearing, Ebrahimian sat with his hands in his lap, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and spoke only to confirm his identity to the court.
READ MORE: Charges laid in Langley homicide house fire investigation
As of Monday, Ebrahimian has been in custody for 10 days. No trial has been scheduled.
On June 13, RCMP were called to 19600-block of Wakefield Drive around 5:30 p.m. where they discovered a house engulfed in flames.
Police found a man’s body at the back of the residence with what they described as injuries indicative of homicide. He was later identified as Zangrilli.
Emergency responders located two additional bodies inside the house, later identified as Bazyar and Medea Ebrahimian.
A fourth family member, later confirmed to be Kia, had apparently escaped the fire without serious injury.
IHIT was called in to conduct the investigation. Little has been released about the circumstances of the fire or alleged killings, but Jang noted that the family was not thought to be linked to any criminal activity, and were not known to police.
READ MORE: Neighbours rally behind family displaced by suspicious fire
