Woman, 65, dies from injuries suffered in 2018 Toronto van attack
Posted November 11, 2021 6:16 pm.
Last Updated November 11, 2021 9:56 pm.
Police say a 65-year-old woman has died from injuries she suffered during the April 2018 van attack in Toronto, when Alek Minassian deliberately targeted pedestrians, killing 11 and injuring many others.
The tragic incident, considered the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history, happened on April 23 at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Yonge Street and Finch Avenue. Minassian was taken into custody just south of the crime scene after leaving the van and reportedly attempting “suicide by cop.”
At his arrest, Minassian described himself as an incel to police and in prior social media postings.
On Thursday, officers confirmed that 65-year-old Amaresh Tesfamariam of Toronto, who was paralyzed from the neck down due to the van attack, had been in hospital since the incident. She was pronounced dead on October 28.
Toronto police say Tesfamariam’s death is now considered a homicide but Minassian will not face another murder charge. Const. David Hopkinson, a police spokesman, said the charge can’t be upgraded to first-degree murder because too much time has elapsed since she was injured.
“It is my understanding that a new charge will not be laid,” Hopkinson said. “But the judge will consider that there is a new victim in sentencing.”
Minassian is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2022.
RELATED: Alek Minassian wanted to kill 100 people in Toronto van attack, but ‘satisfied’ with 10 deaths
The attack claimed victims aged 22 to 94, with nine out of the 11 murdered being women. Betty Forsyth, Ji Hun Kim, So He Chung, Geraldine Brady, Chul Min Kang, Anne Marie Victoria D’Amico, Munir Najjar, Dorothy Marie Sewell, Andrea Bradden, Beutis Renuka Amarasingha, and now Tesfamariam all died in the attack.
The 28-year-old from Richmond Hill had pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. The Crown argued that Minassian was a mass killer who knew right from wrong and happened to have autism.
On March 3, Minassian was found guilty in a verdict given by Justice Anne Molloy and streamed live on YouTube.
Toronto Mayor John Tory issued a statement shortly after Justice Molloy’s verdict, saying while there will never be full closure for the families of the victims, the proceedings and decision will help.
“… Make no mistake, this was an attack fuelled by misogyny and hatred of women and should be treated as such. We must all stand up against this kind of hateful behaviour and those who promote it,” he said at the time.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the victim’s name. Police originally reported her last name as Tessamariam but later corrected it to Tesfamariam.
