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It came horribly late, but wife killer Dr. Mohammed Shamji has finally spared at least one female in his life.

On the eve of his trial for the first-degree murder of his physician wife, Elana Fric, the Toronto neurosurgeon entered a surprise guilty plea to the lesser count of second-degree murder — and so his oldest daughter won’t have to testify against him and describe the final horrific moments of her mother’s life.

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She was just 11 when she awoke to the sound of her parents arguing in their North York bedroom. “She heard banging, her mom scream, then silence,” according to the agreed statement of facts. “The 11-year-old went to her parents’ room to investigate. She was ordered back to bed by her father.”

But he can no longer hide the monster that he is. The beautiful and poised now 14-year-old – along with her younger sister – watched him finally admit to what he has stolen from them.

Photo by Chris Doucette / Chris Doucette/Toronto Sun

“None of the children have laid eyes on their father since his (Dec. 2, 2016) arrest,” explained Jean DeMarco, lawyer for the maternal grandparents, who have custody of Fric’s three children. “We thought it was probably best if they were not in the courtroom but the eldest was fairly adamant that she be.”