A man who murdered a pregnant Guyanese woman in Canada has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Christina Yadram who was six months pregnant was brutally murdered in October of 2021 by her partner, Wazhir Gafoor, in Ontario, Canada. On Wednesday, an Owen Sound jury found Gafoor guilty of first-degree murder, sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
The 36-year-old Guyanese mother of three shared one child with Gafoor and was expecting another when she was killed.
According to an Owen Sound Sun Times report, Yadram’s lifeless body was discovered in a wooded area in Northern Bruce Peninsula on October 10, 2021.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that Gafoor, who was married with children from another relationship, had demanded that Yadram terminate the pregnancy. When she refused, he devised a plan to end both her life and that of their unborn son.
According to the publication, Gafoor lured Yadram into a rental van under the pretence of a Thanksgiving weekend trip. Once inside, he gagged and bound her with duct tape before attempting to force a miscarriage. Yadram suffered a brutal beating, with an autopsy confirming she had 11 fractured ribs, a broken nose, a fractured sternum, and neck injuries. She ultimately died from suffocation.
The jury deliberated for just over two hours before returning a unanimous guilty verdict. Gafoor’s defence team, led by lawyers Stephanie Marcade and Anthony Bryant, argued for a manslaughter conviction, claiming he had not intended to kill Yadram. However, the report stated that the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence of premeditation, including surveillance footage of Gafoor’s rented U-Haul van, which was later found with Yadram’s blood inside. His fingerprints were also discovered on the duct tape used to restrain her.
Gafoor was arrested a day after Yadram’s body was found and has been in custody ever since. His conviction of first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence.
Yadram, a Toronto resident of Guyanese heritage, leaves behind three daughters, including one she shared with Gafoor. Her family and friends, devastated by the loss, have remembered her as a loving mother who was excited about bringing her unborn son into the world.
