MANDEL: Subway killer of 16-year-old pleads guilty to second-degree murder
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The man who stabbed 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes to death in an unprovoked attack at the Keele subway station in 2023 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
According to an agreed statement, Gabriel and his friend were heading home just before 9 p.m. on March 25, 2023 and were on a bench waiting for the train when Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 22, came down the stairs and began staring at them.
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He was then seen on video surveillance exiting the station briefly while still watching the pair. O’Brien-Tobin then reached into his knapsack, re-entered the subway station and immediately headed towards Gabriel.
The poor kid didn’t stand a chance.
“Unprovoked and with no exchange of words, the accused stabbed Gabriel in the chest with the knife,” the agreed statement says. “He then walked away, exiting the subway station. Gabriel collapsed on the floor.”
Gabriel’s friend and others nearby rushed to his aid. He was taken by emergency run to the hospital but was pronounced dead less than an hour later. An autopsy showed the knife had penetrated his left lung, pericardium and heart, causing his death.
“He had so many dreams. He has a zest for life like no other,” wrote a friend on a GoFundMe fundraiser that raised almost $100,000 for his family. “He was loved beyond meaning.”
Added his mother, Andrea, a few days later, “I am heartbroken, shattered, I don’t even feel alive.”
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It would be one of the most shocking incidents of unprovoked violence on the TTC that year and set everyone on edge.
At 9:37 p.m., O’Brien-Tobin entered a church on Roncesvalles and spoke to a priest and a member of the parish, telling them that he felt like killing someone. He was acting strangely and they escorted him out of the church about 20 minutes later.
He then showed up at the emergency room at St. Joseph’s hospital where he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
After his arrest, the Sun reported O’Brien-Tobin had a long criminal record and a history of drugs and mental issues. In his native Newfoundland as well as Ontario, provincial court documents showed he was wanted on a slew of outstanding warrants for breaching probation conditions.
“This,” a detective close to the investigation told the Sun’s Brad Hunter, “is a full-on justice system failure.“
According to the agreed statement, O’Brien-Tobin’s backpack was seized and forensics showed blood that belonged to Gabriel on one of the inner compartments. The knife was never found.
A forensic examination of his cellphone revealed O’Brien-Tobin had been sending messages to his girlfriends, friends and mother both before and after the murder.
“These included messages ‘Someones dying TN’ and ‘I just stabbed someone random’ and ‘I stabbed someone and got away with it.'”
But he didn’t get away with it after all.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February. The Crown has told the court they will be seeking between 16 and 18 years before parole eligibility and the defence is asking for between 10 and 14.
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