Mohamad Lilo’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 30.
The accused murderer briefly appeared before a justice of the peace on Thursday and his case was put over to later this month.
Lilo, who spoke in a clear, crisp voice and appeared to smile throughout his roughly one-minute appearance in video remand court at the Barrie courthouse, is facing charges of first-degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Elnaz Hajtamiri.
Hajtamiri disappeared from a home in Wasaga Beach home in January 2022 after three men came calling dressed in quasi-police gear.
She has not been seen since and police believe she's dead.
Hajtamiri had earlier been attacked in the parking garage of a Richmond Hill condo building. Lilo faces charges in that incident. She had fled north for safety reasons.
The case is slowly winding its way through the courts and Lilo has spent most of the last two weeks in the Barrie courthouse for various preliminary and bail hearings.
He remains incarcerated at the Central North Correctional Centre (CNCC) in Penetanguishene.
Lilo is alleged to be the ringleader of a gang of men who orchestrated Hajtamiri’s disappearance. One of those suspected in her abduction and murder, Deshawn Davis, was arrested in California earlier this year and now also faces murder charges in a Miami homicide.
Davis’s extradition status, and other complications related to disclosure, have contributed to the case’s snail’s pace through the courts.
Two men have pleaded guilty to charges and been deported.
Another, Adams Ankamah of Brampton, recently had charges stayed or withdrawn in a Collingwood court.
None of the other charges against Lilo or his co-accused have been tested in court.
