In the living room of the Vaughan, Ont., home, where 10-year-old Anaya and four-year-old Jax Chaudhari lived with their parents before they were killed by a speeding young driver 21 months ago, is a giant mural of cards of condolences, mementos and pictures of the two siblings.
The children’s mother says she tries to focus on remembering how Jax and Anaya were when they were alive, not how they died. But over the past few days, Binta Patel and her husband are upset and frustrated with the justice system and can think about little else.
Last week, they got a phone call from the probation officer for the young offender who is serving a one-year sentence in an open youth facility. The parole officer told them the teen, who can only be identified by his initials C.Z., has been given privileges to leave the facility so he can work part-time and he’s getting paid. They were not told where he’s working.
“It’s just baffling to me that he was given permission to work part-time outside of the facility that he’s in when he has two months left on his sentence, an already lenient short sentence that he was given,” said Patel.
In April 2022, C.Z. was sentenced to the 12-month custodial sentence, 12 months’ probation and a six-year driving ban after pleading guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death.
Wiping away tears, Patel still vividly remembers that terrible day — May 16, 2021 — when the family of five was outside on the driveway of their home. The children were riding their bikes.
“Being a mother that witnessed two of my kids get hit and killed by a young offender, while knowing that my third child was behind me and has witnessed the same horror, in that moment, that day, I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
“It’s like what do I do? Who did I go to? All three of them need my help, who do I help first? and that’s a moment I have to live with every day of my life.”
Patel said it “just seems so unfair” that the privileges have been offered to C.Z.
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“Why is this being offered to him after he’s caused so much devastation to our family?” she said.
“We are the ones that are left to deal with the consequences of his mistakes and it seems like he’s just getting rewarded, being able to go out and work while he’s serving a custodial sentence,” she continued.
Patel said she had to speak out because her children can’t.
“Anaya and Jax. They’re dead. They don’t have a voice. I thought it was important to talk about this because I don’t think the public knows how the justice system works,” she said.
Patel said two months ago, she and her husband were notified that C.Z. wanted permission to work part-time in the community and the couple fought it, causing the probation officer to back down.
“We just wanted them to know that our family is going through a lot of pain and suffering. This is not something that is fair,” she remembered telling the officer.
But this time, they said, they were told the decision was final, that their input didn’t really matter and it wasn’t going to be taken into consideration.
When the parents asked to speak to the probation officer’s supervisor, they said they were denied that right.
Global News reached out to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services which oversees the youth justice division to get answers.
In a statement, a media spokesperson for the MCCSS wrote, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of any case, we expect public safety to be a top priority in case management decisions and would refer you to the court for specific sentencing decisions.”
Anaya and Jax’s parents say they’re trying to focus on their surviving daughter and keeping the memories of their late children alive. They’ve created social media sites called “Remembering Anaya and Jax” on Instagram and Facebook so the community can get to know who Anaya and Jax were.
“Anaya died two days before her 11th birthday. She was smart. She was competitive. Anaya was emotional. She loved to love. She was a tomboy. She loved MMA. She loved sports. She loved basketball. She was creative. She loved to build things,” said Patel, fighting back tears.
“She liked Asian foods. She loved noodles and sushi and more than anything she was a protector. She took care of her brother and sister.”
Patel said Jax was her “baby.”
“And then there’s my Jaxie. He was my baby. He was four years old. He had so much energy. He was wild. He was fearless. He loved to give hugs and kisses. He loved his big sisters. He loved dinosaurs, cheetahs and hyenas and he just loved to play,” she said.
“I want people to remember them and I want people to remember the way they lived.”
Patel understands the principle that youth offenders can be rehabilitated but believes in this case, it is simply too soon.
“Different things need to be considered like ‘what was the crime?’ How long was the sentence? How much time did he serve? did he kill anybody? if so, how many people and were they children?” she said. “He’s already in an open custody facility and open custody facilities are geared towards youth rehabilitation. So I don’t know why he needs to work part-time and make money.”
Patel believes the criminal justice system needs to change, saying the input and views of victims’ and their families need to be taken into account.
Patel says every day is a struggle but this feels like a nightmare.
“Just hearing that this kid is being given privileges tears us into a million pieces again. It feels like every time we come up for air, the justice system pushes us down again.”
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