A 21-year-old London man, accused of manslaughter in connection with the death of a Western University freshman over the weekend, was released on bail Thursday following a court appearance.
Aliyan Ahmed appeared in court via video Thursday and was granted release on $10,000 bail.
Ahmed has several conditions for his release, including that he live with his parents and that he not communicate directly or indirectly with any witnesses.
He is also barred from possessing weapons, consuming alcohol or drugs, and has a curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., with exceptions, such as if he is with his parents, who will act as his surety.
The charge stems from an incident early Saturday morning near Western and Sarnia roads in which Gabriel Neil, an 18-year-old first-year health science student, was critically injured after being assaulted around 2 a.m.
Neil was transported to hospital, where he later died of his injuries. Police arrested and charged Ahmed with one count of manslaughter in the case. Ahmed is not a student, according to the university.
Police have not released any further information about the matter as it is before the courts, and details remain limited about what transpired that morning.
980 CFPL reached out to Ahmed’s lawyer, Sam Puchala, for comment but did not receive a response by publishing time. Ahmed will appear in court again on Oct. 18. He has no priors, according to an official with the Ministry of the Attorney General.
A statement issued by a representative of Neil’s family earlier this week described the 18-year-old as a “gentle and kind soul who made friends wherever he went.”
“He was excited to be starting his first year of Kinesiology at Western and had aspirations of one day becoming a doctor,” the statement read.
Neil’s death on Saturday came as part of a disturbing and violent first week and weekend of the school year for London and Western amid allegations of widespread sexual violence on campus, and two separate shootings Friday, one fatal, which police believe were targeted.
Police stressed on Tuesday that Neil’s death and allegations of mass drugging and sexual assaults at the Medway-Sydenham Hall residence were not in any way linked, despite online rumours.
“These two incidents should, in no way, be connected, and these types of unfounded comments are hurtful to Mr. Neil’s family,” Chief Steve Williams told reporters.
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