Warning: This story contains disturbing details A B.C. man who repeatedly stabbed his neighbour and berated her in open court during the trial for the brutal attack has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder. Wael Elkady was arrested over three years ago, on the day of the stabbing, and sentenced earlier this month. “The offence itself and the circumstances of the attack on (the woman) are nothing short of horrific. The impact of the life-altering injuries, physical and psychological, she has and will continue to suffer cannot be overstated,” Judge Michelle Peacock wrote in her sentencing decision, which was published online Tuesday. The court heard that the woman had been hired by a property management company to act as a manager for the New Westminster apartment building where she and Elkady both rented suites. “Part of her duties included advising tenants of late payments and other complaints on behalf of the building management,” the judge’s decision explained, adding that Elkady had “displayed hostility” toward the victim in the months preceding the stabbing. ‘Please don’t kill me, I have children’ On June 29, 2023, the victim posted a notice on Elkady’s door about late rent payment and then went into a vacant unit across the hall to clean it, according to the decision. “Mr. Elkady entered that suite. He stated he was going to kill her, and he stabbed or cut her numerous times in the face, upper body and arms. She tried to defend herself, screamed for help and pleaded, ‘Please don’t kill me. I have children,’” Peacock wrote. “The blows continued.” When Elkady dropped the knife, the woman kicked it away from him and tried to escape the suite. After retrieving the knife, Elkady stabbed her one last time and then left, the court heard. “(The woman) eventually made her way down the hall to her own suite, where her 14-year-old son was home. She testified that she ‘wanted to say her goodbyes’ because she did not believe she would survive,” Peacock wrote. “She banged on the door and he let her in. Paramedics attended and she was eventually transported to hospital.” Life-altering injuries A review of medical records showed the victim had been “horribly injured,” the judge said, adding that the woman had been stabbed or slashed more than 20 times. She required multiple blood transfusions and surgeries over the 16 days she spent in hospital after the attack. She was still undergoing physical and psychological treatment at the time of the 2026 trial. “She has permanent scars from multiple wounds, including those to her face and neck. She experiences nerve pain every day, tingling, restricted movement, and physical reminders she can’t avoid seeing every day,” Peacock wrote. “Her daily activities have been severely affected. Her hand often gets stiff and goes into spasm. She has difficulty unscrewing a jar, holding pots or pans, or brushing her daughter’s hair. She is limited in the clothes she wears, how she sleeps at night and hugging her children. She suffers from post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety.” The offender Elkady, who was 48 at the time of the trial, had no criminal record. There was also no evidence of any psychiatric diagnosis or history of substance abuse. “He reports a positive upbringing in a loving home,” the decision said, adding that he was raised in Delhi and came to Canada in his 30s. A citizen now, he is unmarried and has no children. “He contends he is highly educated, having earned three masters’ degrees. He apparently declared personal bankruptcy in 2023 and has been supported on income assistance since then,” the decision said. The judge also described him as suffering from “serious and debilitating medical issues,” including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and end-stage renal failure. “Mr. Elkady urges the court to exercise restraint and impose a lesser sentence, in part because of his failing health. The defence points out that a lengthy term of imprisonment will impact Mr. Elkady more harshly than a healthy offender,” Peacock wrote, conceding incarceration would be more difficult for Elkady but also pointing out there was no evidence thar care he was receiving in custody was inadequate. Callousness, cruelty The defence was asking for a sentence of seven or eight years in prison, while the Crown asked for a 10-year sentence. Elkady’s behaviour during the trial and his lack of insight or remorse were among the factors cited by the judge for imposing the sentence sought by prosecutors. “Mr. Elkady’s hostility toward (the victim) was—and remains—extreme. The level of animus displayed before, during and after the offence, including while he was testifying, is a distinguishing feature of this case,” Peacock wrote. Elkady told the court he only stabbed the victim once and that he did so in self-defence. Any evidence to the contrary, he alleged in his testimony, had been “staged” by the victim. “At one point, during (the woman’s) evidence, when she became overwhelmed, shaking and crying, Mr. Elkady began clapping loudly in a mocking fashion. During his testimony, he insulted and berated her, even as she sat in the courtroom, for example telling the court she was ‘ugly’ and ‘not educated enough’ to recognize mistakes she made in staging the crime scene,” Peacock wrote. “His behaviour and comments demonstrated a callousness—even cruelty—that is difficult to fully convey.” The author of a pre-sentencing report noted that Elkady pled for “mercy” from the judge and was of the opinion that the time spent behind bars awaiting his sentencing was a “sufficient punishment” for what he had done. “Given space to talk, he expresses hostility and envy towards the victim stating she has nothing to complain about, she is ‘alive’ and has ‘health like a horse,’” the decision said, quoting from the report. “Mr. Elkady is hyper-focused on himself, registering almost no concern for the impact of his actions on the victim and is oblivious of the costs to society.” The victim, reading a statement in court, described the impact of the attempted murder in her own words. “This crime took away my health, my ability to work, my sense of safety and the life I knew before the attack,” the judge wrote, quoting from the statement. After credit for time served, Elkady’s sentence works out to just over five years and four months more in prison.
