A Toronto neurosurgeon has been charged with the murder of his wife, Elana Shamji, a 40-year-old family physician.

Shamji has been identified as the woman whose body was found dead on Thursday afternoon near the underpass of a bridge beside the West Humber River in Vaughan.

Toronto Police Service Det-Sgt. Steve Ryan said the alleged suspect, Mohammed Shamji, 40, is a neurosurgeon associated with Toronto Western Hospital.

In a press conference, Ryan told reporters police have spoken to witnesses and that he believed there had been an altercation in the couple’s home.

Elana Shamji’s mother had reportedly not heard from her since Wednesday, and she didn’t show up to work at Scarborough General Hospital on Thursday or Friday morning. Shamji’s husband did not report her missing, Ryan said.

On Thursday afternoon, around 3:30 p.m., officers with York Regional Police were called to a bridge beside the West Humber River — just off Nashville Rd, near Howland Mill Rd. The body of a woman had been discovered, but her identity was unknown.

A post-mortem autopsy in Toronto Friday afternoon confirmed Shamji’s identity, and that she had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma of some kind, Ryan said.

Police arrested Mohammed Shamji without incident at around 8 p.m. Friday night, at a coffee shop near Lakeshore Rd. E. and Hwy 10 in Mississauga.

Elana and Mohammed have three children, whose ages are not confirmed. The children are currently in the care of Elana Shamji’s mother, and police have sealed off the couple’s North York home as they await a search warrant, Ryan said.

Mohammed Shamji is due to appear in court Saturday morning.

With files from the Vaughan Citizen

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