The trial for the man charged in the June 2021 deaths of four members of a London Muslim family will be held in Windsor.
The city nearly 200 kilometres southwest of London was selected by a Superior Court judge to hear the case against Nathaniel Veltman.
The public has known since last July that the trial would not be held in London, as Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled in favour of a change of venue. Reasons behind the decision to move the trial, as well as arguments for and against it, cannot be disclosed due to a publication ban.
Veltman is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the attack on the Afzaal family.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal, their 9-year-old son, and Salman Afzaal’s 74-year-old mother Talat Afzaal were out for an evening walk on June 6, 2021 when a pickup truck mounted the curb at Hyde Park and South Carriage roads in London and hit them before speeding off. The 9-year-old was the lone survivor of the attack.
Veltman, who was 20-years-old at the time, was arrested roughly seven kilometers from the collision scene shortly after the family was struck. Following his arrest, London police said the attack was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate. Prosecutors have also alleged the deadly hit-and-run constitutes an act of terrorism.
The now 22-year-old has been held in the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre since he was taken into custody.
His trial is scheduled to begin on September 5. It is expected to last 12 weeks and will be presided over by Justice Pomerance.