Warning: This story contains distressing details.
Several young people stared directly at the man who murdered their friend and members of her family, defiantly detailing at his sentencing hearing in London, Ont., the loss of their childhoods since June 6, 2021.
“We didn’t just lose Yumnah and her beautiful family. We lost our sense of belonging, we lost our sense of community, we lost our self of safety and our sense of self — we even lost our innocence,” said Maryam Al Sabawi, who met Yumnah Afzaal in Grade 2.
Al Sabawi described Yumnah as “a confidant, a support system, a classmate, study partner, secret
