A Canadian man who shot and killed an Indian MBA student along with another victim in 2022 was found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday. Richard Edwin killed 21-year-old Kartik Vasudev and 35-year-old Elijah Eleazar Mahepath two days apart in 2022. Both Vasudev and Mahepath were strangers to Edwin, whose lawyers argued that he was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the unprovoked attacks.
The killing of Kartik Vasudev
Kartik Vasudev was shot dead on April 7, 2022, outside the Sherbourne subway station in Toronto. Originally from Ghaziabad, the 21-year-old had moved to Canada in January 2022 to pursue an MBA.
(Also read: Indian student shot dead in Canada, EAM Jaishankar expresses condolences)
On April 7, 2022, Richard Edwin left his home and took a TTC train to Sherbourne station, carrying a loaded firearm. After exiting the station and ascending to street level, he encountered Vasudev, who was walking along the sidewalk past the station towards the staircase leading to Bloor Street East.
According to a Global News report, Edwin walked in his direction, rushed past him, then turned back towards him. He then pulled out his firearm and fired multiple shots at Vasudev as he walked away.
Vasudev collapsed to the ground. Edwin fled south along Glen Road, but then turned back, paused, and fired several more shots in Vasudev’s direction before fleeing the scene. Vasudev died from his injuries.
Justice served
At the time of Kartik Vasudev’s killing, his cousin Gaurav Vasudev had posted on X about being left in the dark by Toronto Police.
(Also read: Week after he was shot dead in Canada, Ghaziabad man’s family still awaits his body)
On April 20, as Edwin’s ‘guilty’ verdict was read out, Gaurav Vasudev said that justice had been served in his brother’s killing.
“Justice has finally been served, though the heart remains heavy. Four yrs after the tragic loss of Karthik, a Canadian court has found his killer guilty of 1st-degree murder,” he wrote on X. “While no verdict can fill the void, this is a monumental step for our family. Rest in peace, little bro.”
Killer found guilty
A Toronto court found Richard Edwin guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for killing two strangers in April 2022.
Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly rejected his defence that he should be found not criminally responsible (NCR) due to a mental disorder. His lawyers had argued that he could not understand he was morally wrong because of his mental disorder.
The judge accepted that Edwin had a serious mental illness, schizophrenia, at the time of the shootings. She also noted that he lived an isolated life and that no one knew what he was thinking, believing, or doing. She added that it was clear he was paranoid, as he was storing goods for survival and self-defence.
However, Kelly concluded that Edwin was organised and methodical, had planned both shootings, and understood that his actions were morally wrong.
“These shootings were not impulsive nor were they an immediate reaction to some triggering action caused by an outside influence (i.e. hallucinations or delusions based on admissible evidence). These acts appear to have been thought out or planned over time,” Kelly said.
