A Toronto neurosurgeon accused of killing his physician wife will stand trial next year, a judge ordered Wednesday.

Dr. Mohammed Shamji is charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains in the death of Dr. Elana Fric-Shamji, the mother of his three children.

Shamji appeared in a Toronto court briefly Wednesday morning, where judge John McMahon said the man’s trial would begin April 1, 2019, and be heard by a jury.

Shamji is scheduled to return to court May 30, when procedural motions related to his case will be discussed.

Mohammed Shamji appeared in Superior court today accused of first degree murder of his wife and indignity to her body. A trial date was set for April 1st 2019 by jury. Trial scheduled for 5 -6 weeks. @CityNews — marianne boucher (@CityCourtsTO) April 18, 2018

Fric-Shamji, a family doctor at Scarborough and Rouge Hospital, was last seen Nov. 30, 2016.

Her beaten body was found in a suitcase by the side of a road north of Toronto the following day. Shamji, her husband of 12 years, was arrested a day later.

An investigation revealed Fric-Shamji, a family doctor at Scarborough and Rouge Hospital, died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, police have said.

Prior to his arrest, Shamji worked at Toronto Western Hospital and was a faculty member at the University of Toronto.

He and his wife both had advanced degrees in addition to their medical qualifications.

Fric-Shamji had a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University, according to a biography in research she published. Shamji has a PhD in biomedical engineering, also from Duke.

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