'I apologize for taking her away': Sentencing hearing continues for Ager Hasan

Melinda Vasilije’s family speaks out Ager Hasan gets 16 years after the death of his ex-girlfriend Melinda Vasilije. CTV’s Jeff Pickel has more.

"I apologize for taking her away.”

Ager Hasan, the man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend Melinda Vasilije to death in 2017, addressed the court Thursday at his sentencing hearing.

“When Melinda broke up with me, I didn’t know how to handle it,” Hasan told the court.

Vasilije was found dead in her Kitchener apartment early on the morning of April 28, 2017.

She had been stabbed 47 times.

Police quickly identified Hasan as a suspect, but he had already fled to the United States. He was finally taken into police custody three months after Vasilije’s death and extradited back to Canada in January 2018.

He was found guilty of second-degree murder on May 25.

HASAN’S SPEAKS OUT

“There are zero excuses for taking someone’s life,” Hasan told the court on the second day of his sentencing hearing. “She should be alive, having kids of her own with a partner.”

He said he couldn’t forgive himself for Vasilije’s death.

“It makes little sense to ask for forgiveness,” he added. “I cannot, and will not, forgive myself.”

Hasan also told the court he wants to dedicate a portion of his life to combat intimate partner violence.

‘COMPLETE LACK OF REMORSE’

The mandatory sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years, depending on the judge’s discretion.

The Crown asked for a sentence of 18 years, beyond the normal guidelines for this type of crime, arguing that the court needs to send a “message against domestic homicide.”

Hasan admitted to killing Vasilije during his trial but claimed she attacked him first. He said he stabbed her twice before blacking out.

When asked if he intended to kill her, Hasan answered “no,”

“I should be in jail for a very long time, but I swear to God, I lost control. Convict me for life, I don’t care… but I blacked out. Don’t try to say I did this in the right mind,” he said on the stand. “I killed her, yes. I didn’t do this out of anger. I didn’t do this because we didn’t get back together. It happened because I was an […] idiot, it’s all just hitting me.”

The Crown’s submissions stated Vasilije did not attack Hasan first and that Hasan was the only attacker – bringing up the fact that he used two knives.

“This is a serious homicide with 47 stab wound, using two knives in multiple locations,” said Crown Attorney Brendan Thomas. “It was a brutal, vicious killing in the victim’s home.”

He added that at the time of Vasilije's death, a court order stated Hasan was not allowed in Waterloo Region or permitted to speak with Vasilije.

"Hasan immediately and continously breached a court order from an April 3rd altercation at Vasilije's apartment," Thomas continued.

He also pointed out that Hasan only started participating in “in-prison programs” after his conviction in June 2023.

Thomas added that Hasan taunted Vasilije’s family after her death.

“[He] sent a vicious message to the mother of the victim and left a vicious [social media] post on the ‘Justice for Melinda’ Facebook page,” Thomas said. “A complete lack of remorse on the behalf of the accused.”

The defense argued there’s no proof Hasan was responsible for the Facebook post and message, saying others also had access to his phone while he was on the run in the U.S.

The defense has requested a sentence of 14 to 15 years for Vasilije’s death, asking the court to consider Hasan's violent and turbulent childhood. They also argue that Hasan has shown remorse and taken partial accountability, and stands a better chance of rehabilitation with the support of his family and friends.

PLEA FROM THE FAMILY

The court, in making its sentencing decision, will also consider victim impact statements.

Seven of them were read in court on Wednesday.

Vasilije’s mother, Anna Todorivic, tearfully called Melinda: “My heart, my soul, my best friend.”

She said she looks at her daughter’s photo every night and cries herself to sleep.

“The day she died I was destroyed … a part of me is gone with her,” Todorivic said. “Melinda longed to be a mother… I will never get to hold her babies.”

Vasilije’s sister Kristina said she “remember[s] the agonizing pain in my mother’s scream.”

She said she constantly thinks: “Is there anything I could have done different, if I stayed in the apartment?”

SENTENCING HEARING

Hasan’s parole eligibility began on July 11, 2017, the day of his arrest.

On Friday morning a sentencing date was set for Sept. 27.

-- With reporting by CTV's Jeff Pickel