‘Innocent, defenseless victim’: Failed assassination attempt led to death of London nurse

As CTV London’s Brent Lale reports, a Toronto man pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge for his role in the murder of a local nurse in 2021.

The multiple bullets fired into the side of a London nurse’s vehicle in 2021 were intended for her fiancé, Ali Bhatti.

Those details were confirmed in a London courtroom Monday morning during the sentencing of Ammar Patel, the man who drove the black Volkswagen Jetta to Bhatti and Lynda Marques’ house on Wateroak Drive on Sept. 10, 2021.

“Ms. Marques was intimately involved with Ali Bhatti,” Justice Alissa Mitchell told the court.

“Mr. Bhatti was the usual driver of that white Dodge Charger and appears to have been the intended target of Mr. Patel and the two unidentified gunmen. Ms. Marques paid the ultimate price for her relationship with Mr. Bhatti. Ms. Marques was an innocent, defenseless victim. When attacked, she was a complete stranger to Mr. Patel.”

Patel was sentenced to life in prison for manslaughter with no immediate timeline for parole. He plead not guilty to first-degree murder. During the proceeding, the court heard how Patel had been staking out the residence for hours earlier in the day, and then a video of the homicide was played.

“The video surveillance shows Mr. Patel waiting while two gunmen executed the driver of the white Dodge Charger,” said Mitchell.

“He assisted the gunman to escape the scene. He abandoned the Jetta on a dead-end street where it was discovered three days after the killing. There is no evidence before me that Mr. Patel has assisted police in apprehending the two gunmen, and to my understanding, both gunmen remain at large to this day.”

Patel was given the opportunity to address the court.

“I’m sorry to the Marques family, I’m sorry to my family, and I’m sorry to the court,” Patel said.

Patel – who was just 18 at the time of Marques’ death – has a long history of convictions for criminal activity dating back to his teenage years, including armed robbery using a restricted firearm.

“This was not a crime of passion,” said Mitchell.

“There was a complete absence of any provocation. Ms. Marques was attacked at her home. The offense happened in the early evening in a residential community in North London, the attack was calculated, brazen and displayed an extraordinary degree of violence and the attack involved a firearm.”

Mitchell described Marques’ young son is too young to provide a statement to the court, but how the “egregious act of violence has left a mark on this young boy’s life that can never be erased.”

Mitchell also spoke about the impact on the residents of Wateroak Drive over the past four years.

“This crime has shocked the conscience of the community and rocked it to its core,” said Mitchell.

“This crime was perpetrated in a quiet residential neighbourhood and shattered the community’s sense of safety and security. The impact of this crime on London’s residents will be felt for years to come.”

Mitchell acknowledged his guilty plea saved the court a potential “lengthy and difficult trial and has saved valuable judicial resources. It has also spared the victim’s family of having to endure the uncertainty of what a trial inevitably brings.”

Patel was also given a DNA order, a lifetime-weapons prohibition, and a non-communication order with Osman Ali Afandy, who is also charged in this case.