A Toronto mother who was acquitted of murdering her disabled teenage daughter has filed a staggering $10 million lawsuit against the police who pursued her for 13 long years.
Cindy Ali, along with her husband, Allan, filed the explosive lawsuit eight months after her emotional acquittal in the death of her 16-year-old daughter, Cynara, the Toronto Star.
The lawsuit alleged that Toronto police were “determined to convict” her during their relentless, year-long investigation.
The incident occurred on February 19, 2011, when Ali made a frantic call to 911 claiming that two masked men had invaded her home in Scarborough.
A Toronto mother who was acquitted of murdering her disabled teenage daughter (pictured) has filed a staggering $10 million lawsuit against the police who pursued her for 13 long years.
The lawsuit alleges that Toronto police were “determined to convict” her during their relentless, year-long investigation (her daughter pictured).
When first responders arrived, they found Cynara, who had cerebral palsy, “with no vital signs.”
But what followed was a nightmare that would lead to Ali being found guilty of first-degree murder.
She was sentenced to life in prison, before finally being acquitted in a dramatic retrial that left even the judge unsure about “the truth of the matter.”
Detective Frank Skubic has been accused of refusing to believe Ali’s story about a home invasion and instead quickly developed a theory that she ‘made up the home invasion story to cover up her involvement in Cynara’s death’ , according to The Star.
However, Ali claims in his lawsuit that authorities botched the subsequent investigation into the invasion.
“The investigation into the home invasion was conducted to discredit its occurrence,” the filing alleges. “Officers took little care to secure the scene in the hours after the event, and the forensic team neglected to take fingerprints or DNA samples from various surfaces that Cindy said the home invaders touched.”
When first responders arrived, they found Cynara, who had cerebral palsy, “with no vital signs.”
The lawsuit claims police may have placed a mysterious letter in the Ali family’s mailbox, purportedly from “home invaders” claiming they “had the wrong house.”
The lawsuit claimed that police may have placed a mysterious letter in the Ali family’s mailbox, purportedly from “home invaders” claiming that they “had the wrong house.”
“Plaintiffs suspect, in light of subsequent events, that it was fabricated and placed by (Toronto police) at the direction of Skubic,” the lawsuit states.
Additionally, undercover agents allegedly staged a fake contest at a mall, offering Ali’s other daughter a trip to Niagara Falls, all to gain secret access to the family’s home and the plants’ surveillance devices.
“None of the months of surveillance, wiretaps, or home investigations were presented as evidence against Cindy at her 2023 retrial,” the filing states as a result of the invasive investigation.
The lawsuit named the city of Toronto, the Toronto Police Services Board, former homicide detective Frank Skubic and Toronto fire captain Semahj Bujokas as defendants, according to the outlet.
But what followed was a nightmare that would lead to Ali being convicted of first-degree murder.
Toronto Fire Captain Semahj Bujokas was also accused of kicking Ali at the scene and displaying “aggressive behavior” that surprised other first responders.
“There are no footprints, don’t bother me,” the firefighter said.
The investigation, dubbed ‘Project Litoria,’ involved intercepting the communications of more than 20 people, tracking the family’s movements and even referencing the infamous case of Robert Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer convicted of killing his disabled daughter in 1993.
But the situation did not end with Ali’s arrest.
Toronto Fire Captain Semahj Bujokas was also accused of kicking Ali at the scene and displaying “aggressive behavior” that surprised other first responders.
He spent four years behind bars, during which he claims to have attempted suicide twice.
It was not until 2021 that her conviction was overturned on appeal, leading to a new trial that ultimately acquitted her in January 2024.
The lawsuit seeks a whopping $8 million from Skubic and the Toronto Police Services Board for negligent investigation and false imprisonment.
The filing also demands an additional $2 million from the City of Toronto and Bujokas for a litany of alleged misdeeds including assault and abuse of power.