An Ottawa man charged in the second-degree murder of his wife is “a good man,” said a longtime friend who attended Tamrat Gebere’s video remand at the downtown courthouse yesterday.
James Maluk, who spent time with Gebere in Kenya and later, at the University of Ottawa, said the 35-year-old loved the couple’s daughter. Although the relationship between Gebere and Aster Kassa had its problems, Gebere told Maluk he was “trying to work it out,” he said.
“I met him downtown and I asked, ‘Tamrat, are you OK?’ and he told me, ‘don’t worry,’” Maluk said. “Two days after that I saw it on the news. I was shocked.”
Gebere’s next appearance is Aug. 3.
