Hearing begins for man accused of stalking, murdering ex-girlfriend | CBC News
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For the first time since Madisson Cobb was gunned down in a Calgary parking garage, members of her family gathered in the same courtroom as the man accused of her murder as his preliminary inquiry began Monday.
Devon Malik, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2025 death of Cobb, his former girlfriend.
At the time of the killing, Malik was bound by three judicial orders to stay away from Cobb after she reported to both police and the courts that her ex was harassing her “non-stop.”
Malik’s five-day preliminary inquiry — a hearing to determine if the Crown has enough evidence to send a case to trial — got underway Monday.
In this case, defence lawyer Jim Lutz isn’t fighting that; his client will stand trial for first-degree murder.
But Lutz and prosecutor Greg Piper will get to test how evidence will play out in court.
Piper told Justice Heather Lamoureux he plans to call 19 witnesses by Friday.
A publication ban covers the evidence and arguments during the inquiry in order to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial.
CBC News has previously reported details of the killing based on information from police, court documents and interviews with family members.
Cobb and Malik dated almost a year until she broke up with him on Jan. 28, 2025, according to court documents.
The documents were filed as part of a restraining order application and suggest that following the breakup, Malik immediately began texting and calling Cobb daily.
GPS tracker used
Malik was also accused of putting a GPS tracker on Cobb’s vehicle and was charged twice with stalking and harassment in the weeks leading to her death.
Court records show that Malik’s release conditions on those criminal charges included a no-contact order with Cobb.
On May 30, 2025, Malik was also served with a restraining order, imposed by a judge in Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench.
The order was renewed on June 10.
On the afternoon of July 19, Cobb left her shift at a laser eye surgery clinic on Macleod Trail to a nearby parking garage.
She was shot and killed while walking to her car.