Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter

By Abby O’Brien

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    TORONTO (CTV Network) — A cry of relief rang out in a downtown courtroom on Friday as a Toronto mother formerly sentenced to life in connection with the death of her disabled teenage daughter was acquitted of first-degree murder following a retrial.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly handed down the verdict to a courtroom full of Ali’s family, friends, and supporters. She also said that Ali was not guilty of the lesser offences of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

“It feels good to be free,” Ali said to reporters following the verdict, surrounded by her husband, three daughters, and more than a dozen supporters. “Now, it’s time for my family to start healing and grieving.”

Cynara died in February 2011 at 16 years old after what Ali has always maintained was a home invasion at her Scarborough townhouse.

According to Ali, two men broke into the home on the morning of Feb. 19, looking for a “package.” She told police and later testified that one of the men escorted her room-to-room, looking for the item. When she returned to the living room, Cynara was lifeless on the couch with the other man standing over her holding a pillow, she testified.

The two men were never found.

After Cindy called 911 to report the break-in, first responders found Cynara without vital signs. She was resuscitated and brought to the hospital, where she died just over a day later.

After more than a year of investigation by Toronto police, Ali was charged in March 2012 with manslaughter, upgraded seven months later to first-degree murder.

Speaking outside the courtroom Friday, Ali’s counsel James Lockyer told reporters that he believed police focused too narrowly on the Ali family.

“I learned that police can rush to a judgement as they did in this case,” Lockyer said. “I’ve also learned prosecutors can follow the lead of the police when they shouldn’t.”

When the case first went to trial in 2016, the Crown alleged that Cindy had killed Cynara after the girl had become too heavy a burden on the family before staging her home to look as if a break-in had occurred.

Ali maintained her account of the home invasion, arguing that Cynara was never a burden but rather a blessing, to the family — a sentiment echoed by many of Ali’s supporters, including her eldest daughter, husband, and pastor in court testimony. By all accounts, Cindy had always been a loving and caring mother, they said.

It took less than 10 hours of deliberations before the jury convicted Ali, handing her a life sentence with no chance of parole.

After winning an appeal launched in 2021, Ali was granted a new trial, this time, presided over by Justice Jane Kelly alone. The proceedings began on Oct. 16 and the last witness took the stand on Dec. 18, 2023.

Reading her decision Friday, Kelly told the court that the Crown had ultimately failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ali had killed her daughter.

“Having reviewed all the evidence in this case, I have a reasonable doubt about Mrs. Ali’s guilt,” Kelly said. “I acquit Mrs. Ali of first-degree murder.”

As Ali approached the outside of the courthouse to speak to reporters, snow began to fall. Observing the flakes, Ali said she interpreted them as a sign from Cynara.

“That’s her saying, ‘We did it, mom,'” Ali said, holding a single rose, gifted to her by a member of her congregation.

When asked how she would begin to rebuild a sense of trust in public institutions, Ali told reporters it would take time.

“It’s not easy, it will take time, but now, we get to be free.”

CTV News Toronto has reached out to the Toronto Police Service for comment on the acquittal but has not yet received a response.

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