Man Accused of Killing Son Pleads Innocent
A Hacienda Heights physician accused of strangling and dismembering his 11-year-old son pleaded not guilty in Pomona Municipal Court on Wednesday and won dismissal of a “special circumstances” allegation calling for the death penalty.
But it was only a first-round victory for Dr. Khalid Parwez, 38, an obstetrician and gynecologist. The prosecutor said he will battle in higher court to seek either death or life in prison for Parwez.
“This case deserves it,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard D. Burns III said after Wednesday’s hearing. “The degree of depravity demonstrated is something that even a field medic in Vietnam would be horrified by. The systematic butchery is incredible.”
The remains of Parwez’s son, Raheel, were discovered Nov. 17 in a trash bin at a Hacienda Heights apartment. His body had been cut into more than 200 pieces.
The boy had disappeared from school the day before after he was seen getting into into a blue car similar to one driven by his uncle, Sattar Ahmad, who is a fugitive on a murder warrant.
The victim and his younger brother, Nabeel, 7, had been the center of a bitter custody battle between Parwez and his first wife, Amtul, 30.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
