Three British men originally from Manchester have pleaded guilty to killing a restaurant owner following a row over their unpaid food bill.
The trio, who are members of the same family, were extradited to Canada from Scotland to face prosecution at an Ontario court on Friday.
Sharif Rahman, 44, who owned The Curry House in Owen Sound, Ontario, died in hospital seven days after being assaulted outside his establishment in August 2023.
The assault occurred when he confronted the diners who had failed to settle their bill.
Robert Evans Jr, aged 25, admitted to manslaughter during Friday’s proceedings at the Ontario Court of Justice.
An agreed statement of facts presented to the court outlined how the fatal encounter unfolded on August 17, 2023, when the group accumulated a bill of $145.43 CAD at the restaurant.
Whilst Evans Jr stepped outside for a cigarette, his dining companions departed without settling the tab.
Rahman approached the younger man outside, demanding payment and physically restrained him to prevent his departure.
Sharif Rahman died in hospital seven days after the assault
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SUPPLIED/SHAYELA NASRIN
Evans Jr struck Rahman in the face with a punch, resulting in the victim falling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement.
Rahman sustained a skull fracture and brain haemorrhage, succumbing to his injuries one week later at a London, Ontario, hospital.
Addressing the court, Evans Jr offered an apology to Rahman’s family, stating the tragedy should never have occurred and that he never intended a fatal outcome.
“I think about it every night. I’m sickened by the damage that I’ve caused,” he said, adding he prays daily for the victim’s relatives.
Sharif Rahman who owned The Curry House in Owen Sound, Ontario
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The court learnt that Barry Evans drove his nephew from the scene following the assault.
Robert Busby Evans subsequently purchased a ticket enabling his son’s return to the United Kingdom.
Arrests took place in Scotland nearly a year later, with Evans Jr and his father detained in Edinburgh on July 30, 2024.
Barry Evans was apprehended in Dalkeith on October 29, 2024, with all three consenting to extradition and returning to Canada this past December.
Robert Busby Evans, 49, and Barry Evans, 56, received 21-month prison terms on Friday after pleading guilty to being accessories after the fact.
The sentences accounted for time the pair had already served whilst in custody.
Justice Christopher Chorney remarked the assistance both men provided their relative in departing the immediate vicinity and subsequently the country constituted very serious conduct.
The judge noted their rapid departure from Canada demonstrated they understood the gravity of the offence despite Rahman’s death occurring a week later.
Evans Jr faces sentencing on July 10, with prosecutors and defence counsel jointly proposing a 42-month term.
The court heard Rahman left behind a widow, Shayela Nasrin, and a child described as “lost in every sense of the word” following their profound loss.