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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A Canadian couple and their 19-year-old son were found guilty Monday 30 January of murdering the youth’s three sisters and his father’s first wife from a polygamous marriage, but the story is far from over. The young man’s lawyer says he is appealing the judgement, and the other two may also appeal.

The trio was found guilty of murder in what the court agreed was an honour killing because the girls had become too Westernized. But the Afghan community in Montreal, according to The Globe & Mail, is not convinced a crime took place, with questions raised about whether the deaths by drowning in a car could have been an accident. “Some in Montreal’s small Afghan community of about 5,000 people condemn the crime, while others have trouble with the verdict”, reports the newspaper.

The deaths came as the wedding of the oldest daughter, Zainab Shafia, was called off in a dispute between two families. Her father, found guilty of her murder, had not approved the marriage, but was ready to let it go ahead. When the family of her fiance failed to show up, her father reportedly said it brought shame on the family’s honour.