Man convicted of killing 3 relatives in Etobicoke sentenced to life in prison

CTV Toronto: Man sentenced to live in prison Alexander Khalilov has been sentenced to live in prison after killing three family members in 2013. Austin Delaney reports.

A man convicted of killing his mother, great aunt and great uncle in Etobicoke in 2013 was sentenced to life in prison Thursday, in what the Crown called an inexplicable crime.

Alexander Khalilov was charged in July 2013 after the bodies of three people were found in a townhouse on Old Burnhamthorpe Road near Renforth Drive by a relative.

The victims were identified by police as Tatiana Khalilov, 49, of Toronto, Svetlana Babaega, 76, of Russia, and Victor Zybin, 76, of Russia.

A judge handed Khalilov a life sentence on Thursday in a downtown Toronto courtroom. He will not be eligible for parole for 18 years.

At the time of the murders, police said the suspect was apprehended shortly after the bodies were discovered following a stand-off in a nearby ravine.

The judge heard that Khalilov, while armed with a knife, begged police to kill him.

Police were able to “negotiate” with him and he eventually surrendered.

During the sentencing, the judge, who called the crime as “horrific,” said he is unable to imagine the fear Khalilov’s victims must have felt when they were attacked.

A CTV News reporter inside the courtroom said Khalilov showed “no emotion” as he was handed his sentence.

Khalilov, who was 22 years old at the time, was initially charged with three counts of first-degree murder after the bodies were discovered. Those charges were later changed to three counts of second-degree murder.

The judge heard that Khalilov had been lying to his family prior to the incident. Khalilov told them he was in school and working but he was doing neither.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom Thursday, neither lawyer could offer an explanation for why Khalilov attacked his family members, stabbing them as many as 20 times each.

“There is absolutely no motive in this case that we can think of,” Crown attorney Jill Cameron said. “Mr. Khalilov offered absolutely no explanation as to why he did this. As I said, these were three completely innocent, loving, kind people who were killed.”

Defence lawyer Daniel Moore expressed similar sentiments, calling the case “just sad.”

“He doesn’t know why he did it. There is no real reason. There was no history of strife in the family,” he told reporters.

“It’s just a completely unexplained thing that he unfortunately, and his father and sister, have to deal with for the rest of their lives.”