Family members of a woman fatally stabbed at a women’s shelter in southwest Edmonton last month are calling for justice in her death.
The parents of 27-year-old Zubaria Khan were at the Edmonton courthouse Tuesday morning for the accused killer’s first court appearance.
BACKGROUND: ‘Absolutely gruesome murder,’ witness says of fatal Edmonton stabbing at women’s shelter
They told CityNews they feel left in the dark by the shelter operator, questioning how their daughter could have been attacked by another person also staying at the shelter, somewhere that’s supposed to be safe.
“We got no information from nobody why she did that to my daughter,” said Sakhawat Khan, the victim’s father. “What’s going on? What’s the reality? We need justice.”
Zubaria Khan was the oldest of six siblings and a loving mother of a seven-year-old girl. She is remembered by her family as a quiet, friendly, religious and lovely person. They say she was a good student who loved school; she was studying to be a lab assistant at NAIT but always wanted to be a doctor.
Edmonton police say she was stabbed repeatedly on July 26 and died in hospital. Authorities only revealed the neighbourhood where it happened – the Hamptons in southwest Edmonton. CityNews has identified the location as a women’s shelter, but is not disclosing the address.
A sign for the Hamptons in west Edmonton in August 2026. (Matt Battochio, CityNews)
Zubaria’s father says he wants to see his daughter’s killer behind bars. He says he feels tortured by the question of why this happened to her.
“Always I’m thinking about her,” he said. “When I go to work, I think about her. I can’t work because sometimes, I go to work, I come back home.
“It bothers me why this woman killed my daughter.”
Edmonton police say Zubaria and the accused, 33-year-old Fahima Rahimi, knew each other. Zubaria’s parents say they met in the shelter.
Now, her family is questioning what operator Nisa Homes, part of the Nisa Foundation, was doing to keep the women and children staying there safe.
“They cannot leave the women like this, one psycho woman and one normal woman, and they live in one room, and they didn’t check,” said Sakhawat Khan.
“Supposedly they’re safe, right? That’s what the women’s shelter is for, right? They should provide security.”
Zubaria Khan’s father Sakhawat Khan outside the Edmonton courthouse on Aug. 25, 2026. (CityNews)
The victim’s parents tell CityNews they’re frustrated by the lack of information Nisa Homes is sharing, saying the organization won’t give them the address of the place where their daughter lived her last day.
“We wanna know reality, what’s going on,” her father said. “Nisa Homes should provide us, to let us know why is it Fahima killed my Zubaria.
“So without any, we don’t know anything.”
CityNews reached out to Nisa Homes for comment, but they did not provide a statement that could be used for broadcast.
The head of Alberta’s Council of Women’s Shelters is reminding the public women’s shelters are safe, saying violence like this is extremely rare.
The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
Homicide victim Zubaria Khan, 27, who was killed at a woman’s shelter in southwest Edmonton on July 26. (Supplied)
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