Killer of Anne Widholm eligible for parole in 13 years, possibly less. Tue Feb 9, 2021 “Windsor man sentenced to life in prison for killing of Sara Anne Widholm on Ganatchio Trail,” read the headline on the February 4 CBC report, but there was a problem. The “Windsor man” would not be spending his life in prison, and it wasn’t even close. Last Thursday, justice Bruce Thomas told the court Habibullah Ahmadi would be eligible for parole after 13 years. That fell short of what the prosecution wanted and a full 12 years less than the maximum of 25 years. If the murderer gains credit for time served, Habibullah Ahmadi could be out in 10 years, the minimum required by law, for one of the most brutal murderers in Canadian history.
Out in less than a decade? Fri Jan 15, 2021 Last November Habibullah Ahmadi, 24, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the October 8, 2017, beating of Sara Anne Widholm in Windsor, Ontario. The 75-year-old grandmother did not die until December 17, 2018, but according to Dr. Balraj Jhawar, the beating left her in a “worse state than death.” For this heinous crime, a Tuesday hearing revealed, Habibullah will not receive the worst possible sentence. “Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence,” wrote Trevor Wilhelm in the
Windsor Star, but Habibullah Ahmadi would not get a life sentence. Instead the hearing focused on “when Ahmadi should become eligible for parole.” The range is 10 to 25 years, and prosecutor Renee Puskas argued that the convicted murderer “should not become eligible for parole for 14 to 17 years,” at best nearly a decade less than the possible maximum.