Police identify suspect in ‘random assault’ that killed former CBC journalist

Toronto police have identified a suspect in an apparent random assault on the Danforth that resulted in a former CBC journalist dying from injuries sustained in the attack.

Police were called to the area of Danforth and Jones avenues on the afternoon of Jan. 24. Investigators said a male suspect was walking along the Danforth when they encountered another man and assaulted him. The victim fell to the ground and sustained serious injuries.

Toronto’s homicide unit confirmed on Friday that longtime CBC radio producer, 73-year-old (Douglas) Michael Finlay, died on Tuesday due to medical complications stemming from what officers called a “random assault.”

The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Robert Robin Cropearedwolf of Toronto, fled the scene. He’s wanted for manslaughter and is being urged to turn himself in.

Police said on Friday that officers believe both men did not know each other, noting it’s likely a random attack.

“It’s a chance encounter on the Danforth resulting in an assault,” Toronto homicide detective Jason Hillier said.

A man with the same name, Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, who was 38 at the time, was wanted in 2017 for a series of break-and-enters in Toronto that netted over $2 million in jewelry, cash and electronics. Toronto police have not confirmed whether it’s the same man.

The assault on Finlay was the latest in a series of violent attacks in Toronto, which prompted the city’s mayor to call for a nationwide summit last week to address the mental health crisis in municipalities across the country.

Longtime CBC radio producer remembered as loving, kind man

A former employee with the CBC told CityNews that the victim of the assault was released from the hospital following the attack and then suffered a cardiac arrest at home.

Cathy Perry, the network’s executive director of newsgathering and operations, said Finlay “will be remembered as an exceptional storyteller, documentary-maker and editor.”

“If you worked on a documentary with Michael, you were experiencing the pinnacle of the craft.”

Malcolm Morrison, a former reporter at The Canadian Press and a longtime friend of Finlay, said he and everyone who knew Finlay were “absolutely shattered” upon hearing the news of his death.

“This is very, very unfair, and what to say, except the guy deserved a lot better and all of his friends, we all just hope that the person who did this gets caught before he does something like this to somebody else,” he said.

With files from Michael Ranger of CityNews and The Canadian Press