Family and friends of the Toronto doctor found strangled and beaten to death inside a suitcase earlier this month gathered at a funeral service in Windsor, Ont. on Saturday to pay their respects to a woman remembered for her kindness and dedication to the field of medicine.
Dr. Elana Fric-Shamji, 40, was a practicing family doctor in Toronto, but she grew up just outside Windsor, about 400 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
Hundreds gathered at St. Francis of Assisi Croatian Church, including dozens of doctors who arrived by bus to set up an honour guard. Many said they are still shocked by the grisly death of their popular colleague.
Several mourners wore purple ribbons to symbolize the fight against domestic violence.
Fric-Shamji’s husband of 12 years, neurosurgeon Dr. Mohammed Shamji, 40, was charged with first-degree murder after his Dec. 2 arrest at a coffee shop in Mississauga, Ont. Shamji worked at Toronto Western Hospital and was a faculty member at the University of Toronto.
A candlelight vigil was held earlier this week at the University of Windsor to remember Fric-Shamji, who attended the school. Fric-Shamji's father attended the event and told CTV Windsor he is caring for his daughter’s three children and finding comfort through prayer.
With files from CTV Windsor, CTV Toronto, and The Canadian Press
