Parents of murdered Toronto doctor Elana Fric attend Mohammed Shamji court appearance

For the first time, the parents of Dr. Elana Fric attended a court date for their daughter's husband and alleged killer, Dr. Mohammed Shamji.

"We are her voice," Fric's mother, Ana Fric, said outside the Finch Avenue courthouse.

"We will continue to come to be her voice, since she cannot speak."

• Toronto neurosurgeon accused of killing his wife was once charged with assaulting her

• A physician killed, her neurosurgeon husband charged with murder

Minutes earlier, Ana and Josip Fric, along with other family members, were inside the courthouse as Shamji appeared briefly on a video screen from a GTA detention centre.

Shamji, 40, is charged with first-degree murder in Fric's death. He was arrested three days after Fric's body was discovered in a suitcase under a bridge near Vaughan, Ont., on Dec. 1.

Fric died from strangulation and blunt-force trauma, according to investigators.

• Death met with shock, grief

On Thursday, Shamji's only words came when he stated his name for the record and said "thank you" after the brief proceeding. He wore an orange jumpsuit and looked attentively into the camera as lawyers discussed the next steps in his case.

The crown has begun to provide what was described as a "voluminous" disclosure of evidence to the defence, the court heard.

The next court date was set for mid February.

Shamji is a world-renowned neurosurgeon who practised at Toronto Western Hospital.

Elana Fric, 40, was a family physician at the Scarborough Hospital in Toronto and considered a key member of the Ontario Medical Association's policy committee.

Friends and colleagues described her as a "shining star" in the medical community and a loving mother to her three young children, who are now in the care of their grandparents.

"We will speak for her and for her three children she left behind. Three small beautiful children," Ana Fric said Thursday.

"They miss their mother very much."