Man Wanted For Vicious Toronto Cab Murder Caught In Vancouver

It was a senseless crime with no known motive. And the man police believe committed it is finally in custody.

Authorities in B.C. have revealed they’ve captured Jonathan Forder, the man wanted for the murder of a Toronto cab driver last May 2nd.

Forty-year-old Mahmood Bhatti was on his way home around 3am, when he decided to pick up one last passenger. A camera inside his vehicle would later reveal who that man was. But cops weren’t sure of his identity until they began distributing the photo amongst themselves.

That’s when sharp-eyed officers stepped forward to say they recognized the 31-year-old man caught on the security cam from past encounters.

Bhatti was stabbed as his vehicle came to a crashing halt near Cowell and Danforth early that morning. He was trying to defend himself but his injuries, which included a broken neck, were so severe doctors couldn’t save him.

The father of four young children, who was the sole breadwinner for his family, succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

“He is a very violent offender,” reveals Toronto Det. Dan Neilson. “It is a great relief to everybody.”

Nusret Bhatti, the victim’s wife, was inconsolable at the news of her husband’s sudden death and couldn’t figure out how she would tell her children.

“He is a beloved husband, he’s a beloved father, he’s a loving father, loving son, loving brother,” she cried, holding her youngest child on her lap. “In the whole world, there was no one like him. For me. For my kids. And for his family, too.”

Police originally believed Forder had fled to Montreal after some bank transactions led investigators to Quebec. But he was apparently tripped up in the simplest of ways out west, when he was allegedly caught using an expired transit pass.

When he was questioned, he took off on foot, but cops caught up to him. And though he used a phony name, fingerprints soon revealed who he really was.

Forder’s also been implicated in another cab robbery that took place several hours after Bhatti was attacked. He’s charged with second-degree murder, robbery and aggravated assault.

Local cops are travelling to Vancouver to bring him back here to face justice. He’s due to appear in College Park courts on Tuesday.

• This case also created fallout of a different kind, with cabbies complaining cameras in their vehicles aren’t enough to keep them safe. But many are divided on the need for safety shields, which are expensive and which some think will cut back on a driver’s tips.