Man convicted in London, Ont., attack on Muslim family plans to appeal: lawyer

The lawyer for a man convicted of murdering four members of a Muslim family in what the judge deemed to be an act of terrorism says his client is seeking to appeal the convictions.

Defence lawyer Christopher Hicks says Nathaniel Veltman has filed an “inmate notice of appeal,” which must be submitted within 30 days of sentencing to begin the appeal process.

Veltman was sentenced in February to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years after he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck in 2021 while they were out for a walk in London, Ont.

Forty-six-year-old Salman Afzaal; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal were killed in the attack. 

The couple's nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.

Justice Renee Pomerance, who presided over the trial held in Windsor, Ont., ruled the murders committed by a self-described white nationalist were an act of terrorism.

The case was the first time Canada's terrorism laws were put before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.

Prosecutors had argued Veltman was a white supremacist with a plan to commit violence, while the defence argued his actions shouldn't be considered terrorism because he kept his beliefs to himself.

But Pomerance rejected that argument, finding that Veltman only kept his beliefs private to avoid detection before he could carry out his plan. 

At a sentencing hearing in January, Veltman apologized for the pain he had caused but that apology was rejected by the victims' family members outside of court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press