Angry in the Great White North

For all the odd aspects of the murder of Shemina Cheema (formerly Shemina Hirji), one that strikes people as most strange is the description of the alleged home invaders. One was in a business suit. As it turns out, that isn't unusual:

[Paul Cheema] was only able to give vague descriptions of two of the three home attackers.

The first man is described as a tall Caucasian male wearing a brown business suit, while the other had darker skin and wore a ski mask.

In many home invasions, one person will knock on a door, dressed in a respectable suit to convince the occupants to unlock the door while the other robbers hide from sight.

Another site expands on this tactic used by home invaders:

Home invasion robbers, in contrast, work more often at night and on weekends when homes are more likely to be occupied. The home invader will sometimes target the resident as well as the dwelling. The selection process may include a woman living alone, a wealthy senior citizen or a known drug dealer, for example. It is not unheard of for a robber to follow you home based on the value of the car you are driving or the jewelry you are wearing. Some home invaders might have been in your home before as a delivery person, installer or repair vendor. Home robbers rarely work alone and rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain initial control and instill fear in you. The greatest violence usually occurs during the initial sixty seconds of the confrontation and home invaders often come prepared with handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and firearms. Some in-home robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some even claim it’s a "rush."

So were Paul and Shemina targeted? If so, why? Did the home invaders believe that there were expensive and new items to steal, items only recently received as wedding gifts? What went wrong that Shemina was killed?

Given the fact that home invasions are so violent, why was Paul Cheema left unharmed? Why didn't the home invaders continue with the theft even after the murder?

And why is the police investigation marked with such levels of secrecy?

Does the truth lie somewhere in between? Was this a home invasion, but not motivated by theft, but by other reasons, related specifically to Paul Cheema and Shemina Hirji?

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