TORONTO — The murder trial of a Toronto mother accused of killing her severely disabled daughter is hearing from the dead girl's sister today.
Amanda Ali says that despite the disabilities, her 16-year-old sister was considered a blessing, not a burden on the family.
Their mother, Cindy Ali, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her youngest child, who had cerebral palsy and couldn't walk, talk or feed herself.
Amanda, who was 21 years old when her sister died, says their mother was the primary caregiver of Cynara, who known to have seizures and lung infections. But she says the family was a normal and happy one.
Cynara died in a Toronto hospital in February 2011, two days after emergency personnel responding to a 911 call about a home invasion found her without vital signs.
Crown prosecutors have argued Ali murdered Cynara by smothering her with a pillow and then spun an elaborate web of lies about a home invasion to cover up the crime.
An autopsy found Cynara's immediate cause of death was a brain injury from deprivation of oxygen, which was caused by cardiac arrest. That cardiac arrest, court heard, could have been caused by suffocation.
A pathologist called by Ali's defence lawyer has testified that he found "no physical evidence" of smothering in the case, but noted that he also could not entirely rule it out as a possibility.
Ali claimed two masked men in suits rang her door bell and pushed their way into her home demanding a mysterious package — which they never found — and harmed her daughter, court has heard.
She claimed she saw one of the intruders hold a pillow over the girl's face, but later told police she only saw him with a pillow in his hands standing over Cynara, court heard.
