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The Shafia honour killing trial was delayed Thursday morning because of a bomb threat.

Shortly before the case was to resume, lawyers, jurors, court officials and a capacity crowd of spectators were asked to leave the Frontenac County courthouse by lead investigator Kingston Police Sergeant Chris Scott.

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“I was here when Mr. McCann (defence lawyer Patrick) was arriving at the parking lot,” Kingston resident Dan Simpson later told reporters. “The judge was driving out and said, ‘Don’t bother — bomb threat’.”

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Prosecutor Laurie Lacelle was set to resume her closing address.

The gracious old building was soon surrounded by police.

Mohammad Shafia, along with his second wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42, and their son, Hamed, 21, are each charged with four counts of first-degree murder. They have pleaded not guilty.

Shafia sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, were found dead inside the family’s car, which was discovered submerged at the bottom of a shallow canal near Kingston, in eastern Ontario.

Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, also was in the vehicle. She was Shafia’s first wife, whom he married in his native Afghanistan before the polygamous family moved to Canada in 2007 and settled in Montreal.

Their trial, underway since October 2011, is in its final stages.

It was expected to resume at 1 p.m. ET.

With files from Postmedia News