Trial begins for Toronto couple charged with killing neighbour over barbecue fumes

The trial has begun for a Toronto couple charged with killing their neighbour.

Filmmaker Reeyaz Habib’s decomposing body was found in a garbage compactor in the underground parkade of the Liberty Village condominium complex, where Habib and the accused lived nearly three years ago.

More than a day after the body, at the time unidentified, was discovered, the Toronto Police Service put a bulletin on social media that 53-year-old Habib was missing from the area.

Khoa Tran is charged with second-degree murder and Tran’s wife, Quynh (Isabelle) Nguyen, is charged with being an accessory after the fact and doing an indignity to the body.

The Crown alleges Nguyen, knowing that her husband had killed Habib, assisted with the disposal of Habib’s body.

Tran, 36, and Nguyen, 30, have each pleaded not guilty.

It is an agreed fact that at the time of Habib’s death, there was tension between Habib and Tran over Tran’s use of his barbecue.

Habib, who graduated from the School for Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, had lived alone in his condo at 26 Western Battery Rd. for roughly a decade when his body was discovered.

In the opening address to the jury Tuesday, assistant Crown prosecutor Nathaniel Smith said Habib’s body was found by a cleaner searching for cans on June 8, 2023.

Smith said Habib lived in the townhouse directly above the condominium where the married couple lived and Habib didn’t like how the barbecue smoke rose up towards his unit.

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Other neighbours and Habib’s nephew are expected to testify that in the weeks leading up to the murder, the barbecue caused tension for Habib.

The Crown said evidence will be heard that in the early morning hours of June 6, 2023, screams for help were heard throughout the complex, which woke people up.

A woman visiting from Vietnam who was staying with the couple is expected to testify that she was awakened by the screams and thought they were coming from the unit above. She is expected to tell the jury that Nguyen assured her that Habib was likely filming and she should go back to sleep.

Smith said the visitor is expected to testify that Tran was nowhere to be seen and she went back to sleep.

Smith said that on June 6, 2023, Habib didn’t show up for a scheduled tennis match with a friend.

“Text messages went unanswered and he was never seen alive or heard from again,” Smith said.

Habib’s body was found wrapped in duct tape, blankets and towels, the prosecutor told the jury.

“Two notes on white paper surrounded Mr. Habib’s body,” Smith said.

One read, “Can someone lift this into the trash? Very heavy.” The other said, “Please do not open. Lots of sharp metal and glass inside from renovations. (Don’t worry, we wrapped it in fabric.)”

Smith said a forensic pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Habib’s decomposing body is expected to testify that his cause of death was difficult to determine due to a number of pre- and post-death injuries.

After the discovery of the body, police began their investigation, Smith said. Two fingerprint experts are expected to testify — one who found a fingerprint on one of the notes that matched Tran’s fingers and another expert who found a fingerprint on duct tape on the material around Habib’s body that also matched Tran’s.

The jury will also hear from a DNA expert who is expected to testify that the couple cannot be excluded as contributors to a DNA mixture found on the duct tape on a blanket surrounding Habib.

The Crown told the jury they will hear that after Habib’s death, his key fob was used to access the garage, which contained the compactor.

Smith told jurors that a day after Habib’s body was found, police and Habib’s nephew went into his condo and found there were noticeable changes inside, including white sheets that were hung on the windows.

According to a lengthy agreed statement of facts, Habib had complained about the smoke emanating from Tran’s balcony and spoken to others about the issue.

Tran agreed to warn Habib before he was going to use the barbecue by text messaging him and did so on a number of occasions in the months leading up to Habib’s death.

On May 20, 2023, two-and-a-half weeks before the body was discovered, Tran was outside barbecuing with the friend who was visiting from Vietnam. Habib was angry and asked Tran to move the barbecue away from his door, before slamming it shut.

It is also a fact that police were able to do forensic extractions from Tran’s cellphone and found that on May 30, 2023, he had searched “mixing vinegar and bleach.”

The trial is expected to last four weeks.