On July 27, 2019, Menhaz Zaman brutally slaughtered his sister, mother, father and grandmother by bashing their heads in with a crowbar before slashing their throats with a knife.

The horrific reality is it was easier for Menhaz Zaman to murder his entire family than tell them the truth: he dropped out of York University because of poor grades.

Zaman lied to his family for over a year about it.

This ongoing lie was the impetus for killing four people, as the graduation ceremony for the class he no longer attended was the following day, July 28th.

Menhas Zaman could not allow his family to attend those ceremonies and learn of his lies, so he killed them.

Zaman pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder on September 29, 2020.

He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2020, but technical issues with video relay between the Central East Correctional Centre and the courthouse made that impossible.

When the Correctional Centre disconnected the feed without Justice Michelle Fuerst’s approval, she was forced to reschedule the hearing.

CP24 reported a sentencing agreement was reached with Crown prosecutors that would see the killer spend 40 years behind bars before being eligible for parole – 25 years consecutive for the three counts of first-degree murder and an additional 15 years for the lone charge of second-degree murder.

On the afternoon of November 6, 2020, Justice Michelle Fuerst sentenced Menhaz Zaman to life in prison with no chance for parole for 40 years, following the joint sentencing recommendation of Crown and defense attorneys.

“Words such as brutal, cruel, cold and callous do not begin to convey the enormity of his violence,” said Justice Michelle Fuerst.

“It is difficult to imagine a more horrific way to take a human life than by slitting the victim’s throat. Mr. Zaman did so not just once, but four separate times over a span of hours.”

“No right-thinking member of society would see any remote correlation between the imminent disclosure of the secret of Mr. Zaman’s non-attendance at school and the vicious taking of the lives of the four people closest to him. That Mr. Zaman saw such a connection and acted on it in the cold and calculated manner that he did is deeply disturbing.”

“The betrayal of trust involved in these crimes is enormous. Mr. Zaman executed four unsuspecting family members in their own home. It defies understanding that while his mother and grandmother lay upstairs in their own blood, Mr. Zaman played video games and napped to pass the time, apparently untroubled as he lay in wait to slay his sister and father in the same manner.”

Menhaz Zaman will be 64 years old when he is first eligible to apply for parole.