Nathaniel Veltman, the man convicted of murdering a Muslim family in London, Ont., has now filed his inmate notice of appeal in an attempt to overturn the jury’s verdict.
This is the first necessary step in starting the appeal process.
According to a court document obtained by OMNI News, Veltman, in his own handwriting, states that he intended to file for his inmate notice of appeal on the day of sentencing, but was unable to due to jail transfers.
A judge ruled in February that the murder of four members of the Afzaal family by Veltman was an act of terrorism, and she sentenced Veltman to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Veltman was also sentenced to a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of a boy who survived the 2021 attack in London.
In his reasons for appeal, Veltman states that the verdict was unreasonable and against the weight of the evidence. He added that the sentence for the attempted murder in the case was harsh and excessive.
The 23-year-old was found guilty in November of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk.
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.
With files from the Canadian Press