An eleventh person died after sustaining serious injuries in the van attack in North York three and a half years ago, the Toronto Police Service said in a news release Thursday.
Amaresh Tesfamariam, 65, had been in the hospital since the April 23, 2018, riot by Alek Minassian while driving a rented van down a sidewalk, cutting off pedestrians, in the area east of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, in the worst mass slaughter. in Toronto history. He died on October 28.
His death is now considered the 98th homicide of 2018.
Earlier this year, Minassian, 28, was found criminally responsible for the mass murder, rejecting the defense’s argument that his specific form of autism spectrum disorder rendered him incapable of knowing that what he did was morally wrong.
He planned his attack to generate as much fame as possible for himself, and had fantasized about committing mass murder since he was in high school, Superior Court Judge Anne Molloy said.
The judge found Minassian guilty of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder, one count related to Tesfamariam.
TPS Const. David Hopkinson said Thursday night that he does not expect Minassian to face an additional murder charge due to the time between Tesfamariam’s injuries and death.
In an out-of-court statement, prosecutor Joe Callaghan said the outcome was “fair and just” and praised the victims for their resilience over the past three years.
“You showed us how love and humanity can prevail,” he said.
One media outlet covered Tesfamariam’s funeral last week. She was described as a nurse who was paralyzed after the attack.
The 10 people killed were: Ji Hun Kim and So He Chung, both 22 years old; Anne Marie D’Amico, 30 years old; Andrea Bradden, 33; Chul Min (Eddie) Kang, 45; Renuka Amarasingha, 45 years old; Dorothy Sewell, 80 years old; Geraldine (Gerry) Brady, 83; Munir Najjar, 85 years old; and Betty Forsyth, 94.
Minassian faces an automatic sentence of life in prison. The only question left for the court is how long before you can apply for parole. A first-degree murder charge comes with an automatic 25-year parole ineligibility period, and it’s up to the judge to determine how much longer that period should last.
A sentencing hearing has not been held and is expected in 2022.
In her ruling, Molloy included the names of all the injured victims and listed some of their injuries.
He said the woman who had just died was 62 years old and had “injuries, including a cervical fracture.”
In his view, Molloy wrote that Minassian’s attack on the 26 victims that day “was an act of a reasoned mind, despite its horrific nature, and despite the fact that it has no remorse or empathy for its victims.”
Reference-www.thestar.com