Warning: This article contains graphic content and depictions of violence
A British Columbia man who, after killing his wife, once tried to claim that burning her body and vehicle was part of a “respectful cremation” has been granted a day’s parole.
The Parole Board of Canada made its decision on Mukhtiar Pangali last week after weighing the details of his crime and the progress he has made since receiving a life sentence more than a decade ago.
Pangali was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 15 years. He has served about 11 years behind bars and will now spend the night in a public housing facility or community correctional facility.
He is also subject to a number of conditions, including having no contact with the victim’s family, including his own daughter, unless he receives written permission from his parole officer.
DETAILS OF CRIMES
Pangali was convicted of second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body in the 2006 death of his wife.
Manjit Pangali was 31 years old and also a teacher.
During Pangali’s trial in 2011, the court heard that the victim was four months pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time. Her body and car were found burnt on a beach in Delta after Pangali reported her missing.
He told police his wife went to prenatal yoga and never came home. Parole board documents say Pangali waited 26 hours to report her missing and after her body was found and in the months that followed tried to shift the blame to others.
Among the suspects he believes may be responsible is Manjeet’s own brother.
Panghali became a suspect and the court heard during his trial that the victim’s diaries suggested she was trying to make the marriage work.
She had written in her diary that she and her husband struggled with many problems, including “sex, drugs, alcohol, co-workers and family”.
The court heard that Manjeet’s death was violent. Her cause of death was strangulation, but the wounds on her body included blunt force trauma to her pelvis and neck.
Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence in British Columbia, but judges then determine parole eligibility.
The judge in Pangali’s case said she got a 15-year term because of aggravating factors in the woman’s death, including violence and being pregnant.
The evidence was circumstantial but compelling, the judge said.
After the trial, Pangali tried to appeal his conviction. He said that Manjeet’s death was accidental and that the cremation of her body was intended as a “respectful cremation”.
The appeals court didn’t buy it.
After his conviction and appeal, Panghali was stripped of his teaching license. There is a ban on the profession for 25 years.
He was ordered years later to pay over $600,000 in restitution to his wife’s family.
Manjit Pangali is seen in an undated photo.
“SMART ENOUGH NOT TO GET CAUGHT”
During Pangali’s post-conviction hearings and meetings, including those held years after his conviction, it became clear that Pangali had been considering killing his wife for years, the parole board said.
That was because he believed she didn’t appreciate him, according to the board.
They argued about the family before her death and at one point she said his parents and brothers were “dead to her,” the board said. At this point, Pangali confesses that he has decided to kill her.
“You admitted provoking a fight with the victim to become physical in order to end her life by suffocating her well after she was unconscious. You also admitted that you burnt the victim’s body to avoid arrest, believing that you were smart enough to avoid being caught,” the board said in a release directed at Panghali.
THE COMMISSION’S REASONS FOR PROBATION
Now 50, Pangali has spent years behind bars, participating in programs and counseling sessions designed in part to help him understand what happened and how to prevent it in the future.
“You have noted that you need to do a lot of work to repair the harm you have caused,” the board said.
“Although your index offense was serious and violent in nature, resulting in the loss of life of the victim and causing significant psychological harm and trauma to the victim’s family, you have taken a number of steps over the years to address your risk factors .”
Before the parole board’s decision, Pangali said he was “raised around relationship violence and (was) unable to manage the dynamics” in his own.
According to the council, he has accepted the impact that domestic violence in his upbringing has had on his approach to relationships.
He admitted he had been “manipulative and mean” to his wife and regretted his “regressive and rather archaic attitudes and beliefs about marriage and intimate relationships”.
He has completed about 40 to 50 programs, including those focused on nonviolent communication.
When he was first incarcerated, he fought with other inmates, but has been out of trouble in the past five years at three institutions, the board said.
His psychological assessment included that he was considered a ‘low to medium’ risk of violence while on day parole and recommended a gradual return to normal life, starting with Unaccompanied Temporary Absences (UTAs) and then move on to day parole.
He had eight or more UTAs without issue, the board said.
However, his psychological assessment suggests he should still be considered a “high risk” of domestic violence.
Mukhtiar Pangali is seen in a court sketch.
CONDITIONS
Despite the risk of intimate partner violence, the board decided to proceed with six months of parole.
Pangali, who had no criminal record before his wife’s murder, has the support of his family and pastor, as well as some support groups.
He has benefited from prison programs and would do well to continue that work, the board said, but he has exhausted all such programs he can do while in prison and may instead seek similar opportunities in the community.
As for finding work, Pangali can no longer teach, but the council said it was encouraged by his work in prison, including in construction and as a teacher.
While on day parole, Panghali will have to continue with his treatment plan, which includes working on “emotion management,” healthy relationships and domestic violence prevention.
He is not allowed to use alcohol or drugs and must report all relationships to his parole officer.
He is already under a lifetime gun ban imposed on him when he was convicted and had to submit his DNA to law enforcement.
Panghali also cannot contact his wife’s family, including his daughter, unless he has written permission from his supervisor.
The board said he was in contact with his daughter until 2019, when she requested a seat. He hopes to have a relationship with her in the future, the board was told, but respects her wishes.
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