Richard Edwin has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Kartik Vasudev, an Indian student in Toronto, after the court rejected his plea of mental disorder.
Key Points
- Richard Edwin was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of Kartik Vasudev in Toronto.
- The court rejected Edwin's defence of not being criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
- Kartik Vasudev, a 21-year-old student from Ghaziabad, was shot dead in Toronto in April 2022.
- Vasudev's family attended the final hearing in Toronto after a four-year legal battle.
A court in Toronto has sentenced a man to life imprisonment after rejecting his plea of not being criminally responsible due to a mental disorder in the killing of Indian student Kartik Vasudev, his family said on Tuesday.
The Superior Court of Toronto, presided over by Justice Jane Kelly, on Monday found Richard Edwin guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of two strangers on April 7 and April 9, 2022, according to the Global News Toronto.
Court Rejects Mental Disorder Plea
While Edwin admitted to shooting the 21-year-old Vasudev, a resident of Ghaziabad and a student of Seneca College, his defence argued that he should be declared not criminally responsible (NCR) as he was suffering from a mental disorder and could not distinguish right from wrong.
The court acknowledged that Edwin was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the incident but rejected the NCR plea and awarded him life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Details of the Killing
The judgment, published in the Global News Toronto and shared with PTI by the victim's father, detailed the sequence of events leading to the killing. It stated that Vasudev was walking past Sherbourne station towards the Bloor Street East staircase when Edwin rushed past him, turned back and fired multiple shots at his back.
Family's Pursuit of Justice
Speaking to PTI from Toronto, the victim's father Jitesh Vasudev said he and his wife had remained in Canada to attend the final hearing.
"After a legal battle of four years, we have finally received justice," he said.
Vasudev had moved to Toronto in January 2022 to pursue management studies but was killed within months. His body was later repatriated to Ghaziabad and cremated on the banks of the Hindan river, where his younger brother performed the last rites.
Earlier, speaking to PTI, Jitesh Vasudev had expressed concern over the lack of official assistance during the transportation of the body from the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the absence of district officials at the time of cremation.
The family resides in Rajendra Nagar in the Trans-Hindan area, and Vasudev was an alumnus of DAV School in the locality.
