Friends and relatives of the Markham family found killed in their home last week wept and clung to each other at their funeral on Friday, asking the community for prayers, rather than judgment.

“Please don’t say any bad comments,” said a tearful Sabrin Sultana, a longtime family friend, after four coffins holding the bodies of Firoza Begum, 70, Momotaz Begum, 50, Moniruz Zaman, 59, and Malesa Zaman, 21, were carried out following Friday prayers at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto in Scarborough.

“Everyone who sees the news, please pray for them,” Nigar Sultana, who has known the family since 1995, said, barely able to get her words out between sobs.

Menhaz Zaman, 23, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder on Monday after the bodies were found at a house on Castlemore Ave. Sunday afternoon.

Friends have said the victims are the suspect’s grandmother, mother, father and sister.

At the mosque, the family’s emotion was palpable. One relative sat in a chair beside one of the coffins before prayers, sobbing loudly as two other women hugged her. Family members and friends comforted Shamsu Zzaman, the brother of Moniruz Zaman, who tried to stay calm and collected through tears.

“I’m sending this body to its final resting place,” Zzaman said in a short speech before a funeral prayer that ended the service. If his brother or any of the deceased made any mistakes, “please forgive them for the sake of Allah,” Zzaman told hundreds of congregants.

He thanked the Muslim community and the Markham community for showing support and attending the funeral. He also thanked York Regional Police, who responded to the call and made the grisly discovery Sunday afternoon, as well as Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who also spoke at the funeral service alongside Councillor Khalid Usman. The politicians offered to support a community rocked by tragedy and join them in prayer, adding that York police would be offering counselling service for whoever needs it.

“My mind is out right now,” Zzaman said afterwards outside the mosque, where a crush of media and community members watched the coffins leaving for the Toronto Muslim Cemetery in Richmond Hill, some snapping photos with their cellphones. “I lost my brother because of craziness. Now everyone has to think about why I lost my brother and sister. We can do something as a community.”

Zzaman said he never noticed anything about his nephew to suggest such a tragedy could occur.

“We never knew anything, never had any idea,” he said. “My brother was a good person. They were a nice family.”

Zakia Alam, another family friend, said of Menhaz Zamans’ parents that they were very social, often attending festivals and celebrations in the local Bangladeshi community. In fact, she said, they recently held a big wedding anniversary celebration for themselves.

“Something I’m surprised to tell you: The son gave a nice brief about his parents, how much he loved them,” Alam said.

“We are shocked. We don’t know what to do except pray,” she said. “We are requesting to the community, please just pray for them instead of judge them …. Without knowing, don’t make any comments.”

Alam said after this incident, she has been trying to spend more time with her own 23-year-old son. “It makes him a little surprised, but I want to know him, what’s going on inside of him.”

In Newmarket, Menhaz Zaman made a brief court appearance by video from jail, identifying himself in a soft, calm voice and stating his birthdate.

Zaman is in the process of retaining a lawyer, duty counsel told the court, and he will appear again by video on Aug. 8.

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At the courthouse, Roda Medhat, an acquaintance of Zaman’s from the same Markham neighbourhood and high school, said he came out of curiosity and a desire to make sense of the horrible tragedy.

Medhat said he was struck by how “calm, cool and collected” the accused killer seemed.

The victims’ cause of death has been determined, but won’t be released while the case is before the courts, York police said in a news release.

Following the ceremony in Scarborough, the family members will be buried in a Richmond Hill cemetery.

Afnan Alibaccas, founder of the GoFundMe page to help the family pay for the funeral, said Thursday that enough funds had been raised to cover the costs.

With files from Jacob Lorinc and Alyshah Hasham

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