Toronto software developer jailed for life over filmmaker's death in condo dispute

Khoa Tran, 36, received a life sentence with no parole for 16 years for killing neighbour Reeyaz Habib over a barbecue smoke dispute. His wife was sentenced to six years as an accessory.

Life sentence handed down in Liberty Village condo murder

A Toronto man who killed his upstairs neighbour over a barbecue smoke dispute has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years, CBC.ca reports. Khoa Tran, 36, was sentenced Monday at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the second-degree murder of filmmaker Reeyaz Habib, 53.

Habib's body was discovered on June 8, 2023 — two days after his death — wrapped in blankets and duct tape inside a trash compactor in the underground garbage area of a Liberty Village condo complex near East Liberty Street and Western Battery Road. A jury found Tran guilty in June of this year.

Dispute over barbecue smoke turned deadly

Court heard that Tran, a software developer, had been locked in an ongoing dispute with Habib, who lived in the unit above his in the condo townhouse complex. The disagreement centred on smoke rising from Tran's balcony barbecue. At trial, Tran testified he had attempted to compromise but grew increasingly angry as Habib continued to complain.

The Crown argued the dispute escalated after Habib threatened to bring the matter before the condo board, which could have resulted in Tran's removal for bylaw infractions. Tran told the court he had already thrown Habib's bicycle into a dumpster in an act of retaliation prior to the killing.

He denied any involvement in the murder and claimed he was not the person captured on surveillance footage disposing of items in the underground garbage area — the same location where Habib's body was found hours later.

Physical evidence linked Tran to the body

Expert witnesses testified that Tran's fingerprints were found on a note and on duct tape affixed to Habib's body. DNA from both Tran and his wife, Isabelle Nguyen, 30, was also recovered from the tape. No surveillance video or eyewitnesses recorded the killing itself.

Justice Kenneth Campbell stated in his sentencing reasons that Tran had "callously" decided to kill Habib, planned elements of the attack and carried it out in the middle of the night inside Habib's own home.

"The killing of Mr. Habib was a senseless and selfish act by Mr. Tran, which predictably had devastating personal consequences for all of the friends and family of the deceased," Campbell said.

Campbell noted that had the operator of the trash compactor not discovered the body promptly, Habib's remains would likely have been compacted and transported to a landfill, "likely never to be found again." The taped handles wrapped around the body were, in Campbell's assessment, what ultimately preserved the forensic evidence tying both accused to the crime.

Wife sentenced as accessory

Nguyen was sentenced to six years in prison for acting as an accessory after the fact and for committing an indignity to a human body. With credit for time already served in pretrial custody, she has five years and approximately four and a half months remaining.

Victim remembered as accomplished and generous

In September, family members, friends and neighbours of Habib delivered victim impact statements. Campbell described Habib as a "good man" who was missed by everyone in his life.

"Mr. Habib was an intelligent, thoughtful and creative man who worked hard in school to get an excellent education, and in the workplace, establishing tremendous careers for himself, first as a successful investment banker, and ultimately in the film industry," Campbell said.

He added that Habib was a son, brother, uncle, neighbour and friend, and that no one who knew him could make sense of his death.

"Immediately following his death, the two accused tried to discard him like a piece of garbage in a dumpster — in order to hide this senseless murder, and their own irrational participation in it, or knowledge of it, and its subsequent attempted coverup," Campbell said.

Second-degree murder in Canada carries a mandatory life sentence with parole ineligibility of at least 10 years. Campbell set the period at 16 years, reflecting the planned elements of the killing and the attempt to conceal it.

"There seems to be no limit to the violence that one person will inflict upon another, for no good reason. This case is a tragic example of this sad but indisputable fact," he said.

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)