A dirge of heartache as victims of mass murderer detail their pain

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A dirge of heartache as victims of mass murderer detail their pain
Life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years for Alek Minassian

Author of the article:Michele Mandel
Publishing date:Jun 13, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 4 minute read • 12 Comments
Alek Minassian is booked at 32 Division after the April 23, 2018 van attack in Toronto.
Alek Minassian is booked at 32 Division after the April 23, 2018 van attack in Toronto. PHOTO BY SCREENGRAB /Toronto Police
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Even now, the remorseless Alek Minassian has nothing to say.


After an excruciating day in court with relatives and friends pouring out their grief at what he stole from them four years ago, the Yonge St. mass murderer was given one last opportunity by Justice Anne Molloy to address the evil of his actions.

“No thank you, Your Honour,” is all he replied.

And so she sentenced the 29-year-old to the binding and mandatory term available to her: a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years for each of the 10 murder victims, to run concurrently, now that consecutive periods of parole ineligibility were unanimously ruled unconstitutional last month by the Supreme Court.

While she can’t give him consecutive sentences, Molloy assured his victims that everything they wrote in their “profound and heartbreaking” statements matters to her — and to a future parole board.


Alek Minassian was convicted in March 2021 on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 of attempted murder — with two of the injured dying years later.
Alek Minassian was convicted in March 2021 on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 of attempted murder — with two of the injured dying years later. PHOTO BY ALEX MINASSIAN /LinkedIn
“Every single one of these lives was precious,” she said, the emotion clear in her voice as it was throughout the difficult day.

“The sentence I am imposing today for these murders is a life sentence, which means just that — a sentence for the rest of this man’s natural life. It is not a 25-year sentence,” Molloy explained.

“All that happens on the 25-year anniversary date of these murders is the offender can ask the parole board to consider releasing him on parole. That does not mean he will get parole. And if he someday gets parole, that does not mean he’s a free man. He will be subject to restrictions forever.”

It’s hard to imagine any board could be unmoved by the hell expressed by the survivors as well as the relatives and friends of the 11 he ran down — nurse Amaresh Tesfamariam became his 11th victim after the quadriplegic died three and half years later in hospital.


Renuka Amarasingha’s son Diyon will be 32 when his mother’s killer is eligible for parole. Just seven when his sole parent was crushed under Minassian’s van and dragged for 152 metres, he expressed his pain in a heartbreaking picture he drew for the court: He and his mom standing together happily beneath a bright sun.

A drawing by murder victim Renuka Amarasingha’s son Diyon. COURT EXHIBIT
A drawing by murder victim Renuka Amarasingha’s son Diyon. COURT EXHIBIT
“It’s lovely,” Molloy said as she wiped away some of her many tears that day.

In 2010, Laura Middleton was with the Toronto Police domestic violence office in Scarborough when she helped a pregnant Amarasingha leave her abusive arranged marriage.

“I wonder if he will remember how deeply his mother loved him. I wonder if he will grow up as strong as she was, or if the senselessness and grief will forever hang over him,” Middleton wrote of Diyon in her statement.


“I wonder if he will ever truly know the hero his mother was.”

Sharlene Mackay, a civilian first responder of the Toronto van attack, addresses media after giving a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for mass murderer Alek Minassian in Toronto on Monday, June 13, 2022. ERNEST DOROSZUK/TORONTO SUN
Sharlene Mackay, a civilian first responder of the Toronto van attack, addresses media after giving a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for mass murderer Alek Minassian in Toronto on Monday, June 13, 2022. ERNEST DOROSZUK/TORONTO SUN
Carmela D’Amico broke down when she took the stand and saw the photo of her 30-year-old daughter Anne Marie. “Oh my sweet baby girl,” she wept as Molloy offered her water before she was able to continue.

“You took my beautiful baby girl away from me. She was at the prime of her life, completely healthy and vibrant,” she told Minassian. “You said you felt like you were lonely and isolated. Now you are lonely and isolated.”

Munir Najjar, 85, was here from Jordan to spend Easter with his children and grandchildren when he went out for a walk that day and never came home. His frantic family’s fears that he was one of Minassian’s victims were confirmed after his 15-year-old grandson spotted one of his shoes on the street.


“Can anyone imagine the impact of such a disaster on a child?!” asked his daughter Haneen Najjar. “What right has this man to destroy the lives of so many people just to gain the infamy he seeks?”

The survivors are still haunted by the sound of the revving engine as the white van came bearing down on them. They described panic attacks, nightmares and physical injuries that continue to this day.

Michele Kelman, whose friend Andrea Bradden, 33, was killed in Toronto van attack, talks to media after giving a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for mass murderer Alek Minassian in Toronto on Monday, June 13, 2022. ERNEST DOROSZUK/TORONTO SUN
Michele Kelman, whose friend Andrea Bradden, 33, was killed in Toronto van attack, talks to media after giving a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for mass murderer Alek Minassian in Toronto on Monday, June 13, 2022. ERNEST DOROSZUK/TORONTO SUN
Retired librarian Beverly Smith is now a double leg amputee who mourns the life of freedom she once lived and the burden she’s become. Left with a traumatic brain injury and unable to afford therapy, Jun Seok Park has also lost her family — they cut all ties because of the cost of coming from Korea and caring for her for 19 months.

“They think I am the thing that ruined their life financially,” she told the court.



So many also spoke of their survivor’s guilt and being forever tortured by the memories of those who died that day.

“Have you ever given a thought to all these people? Do you feel even a little bit guilty for what you did?” demanded Cathy Riddell, 71, in her statement read by her niece as she stood resolutely by her side. “Does it haunt you the way it haunts me?”

We know the answer, of course. His only regret is that he didn’t kill more.

“You have lost the right to ever be free again,” Riddell told him. “Maybe someday you will come to terms with what you have done. Otherwise, you can live in your own self-made hell forever.”

We can only hope.

mmandel@postmedia.com
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Tecumsehsbones

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Canada’s bulk discount sentencing for murder. Once you’ve hit two, might as well go for a Bakers Dozen ‘cuz it makes no difference in sentencing. Crazy.
And the sad truth is that the review board that hears his parole in 25 years will not care. For them it will be history, something they heard about when they were teens or younger (or never heard about until the review board).
 
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