A Calgary man who was convicted of killing his father and dumping his body at a construction site won’t be able to seek parole for 15 years.
Zaineddin Al Aalak was guilty in December of second-degree murder in the death of his father, Mohamed Al Aalak.
The 53-year-old’s body was found at a construction site near Okotoks in July 2017.
A jury rejected Zaineddin’s not criminally responsible defence on Dec. 9, 2020.
A conviction for second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence.
On Thursday, Justice David Labrenz set parole ineligibility for Zaineddin at 15 years.
During his decision, Labrenz said there appeared to be a lack of compassion on the part of Zaineddin.
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“There was displayed brutality at the time, “ Labrenze said.
“There was a displayed lack of compassion in the way that (Mohamed) was killed and the way that his body was treated after his death.”
The prosecution was seeking parole ineligibility of 16-18 years.
Crown prosecutor Carla MacPhail argued there was a “high degree of violence” on the part of Zaineddin.
She said there was a mismatch in physical prowess between Zaineddin and his father, and argued that Zaineddin attacked his father — an unsuspecting victim — from behind with a hammer.
The defence said 16-18 years of parole ineligibility was “excessive.”
Criminal defence lawyer Alain Hepner argued that 13-14 years is reasonable, and said Zaineddin knows he “destroyed his family.”
Hepner said while the not criminally responsible defence was rejected, there were other concerns about his client’s mental state at the time of the murder.
Zaineddin addressed the court Thursday and apologized for killing his father.
“I express that I am in the deepest state of inexplicable and unrecoverable remorse and sadness due to the tragic and overwhelming loss of the life of Mohamed Al Aalak by my hands,” he said.
Labrenz also sentenced Al Aalak to four years of prison for committing indignities to a body, which will be served concurrently with his life sentence.
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