2 Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
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2 Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
TORONTO (AP) - Horrified transit passengers looked on as a man grabbed a
child
and jumped in front of an incoming subway train, killing them both.
Police were treating the deaths as a murder-suicide. The man, in his
30s, and
the child were not identified.
The two were killed Sunday evening at the Victoria Park subway station
in the
city's east end, homicide detective Mark Mendelson said.
The man, who was standing at the entrance of the subway tunnel, grabbed
the
child as the train was entering the station and jumped, he said.
Subway service at the Victoria Park station was suspended and shuttle
buses
were being used.
AP-NY-08-23-99
---------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's Canadian Press news wire,
via the
8/23/99 editions of the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star newspapers:
Man, boy dead in apparent murder-suicide
TORONTO (CP) - Passengers watched helplessly on Sunday as a father
dragged his
son and jumped in front of an incoming subway train, killing both of
them.
The pair was identified as Jeyabalan Balasingam, 41, and his
three-year-old
son, Sajanthan. "We're certainly treating this as a murder-suicide,"
homicide
Det. Mark Mendelson of Toronto Police said of the incident which
occurred
shortly before 6:30 p.m at the Victoria Park subway station in the
city's east
end.
"As the train was entering the station, the adult male grabbed on to the
child
and together they jumped onto the (tracks)," he said.
Police say Balasingam had a history of depression that worsened 19 days
ago
when his wife gave birth to a girl.
Jackie, a witness who didn't want to use her last name, said Balasingam
was
still alive after being hit by the train, and spoke to the subway driver
while
he was trapped underneath the car.
"It was terrible. I heard the man talking to the driver. He said he had
his
child with him," said the trembling woman who said she heard the last
words of
the dying father.
"I'm with my child here and I can't understand how anyone could do
something
like this. It's very, very sad," she said.
Commuter Mario Kocevar said he was approaching the subway platform when
he
heard a loud scream.
"I looked around to my left side and I saw a couple of people back
away,"
Kocevar said. "It was about 10 seconds after the scream that the subway
came
in."
Kocevar said emergency lights came on before the doors of the six cars
opened.
He then noticed transit workers huddling around the second-last car,
where the
bodies were apparently found.
Forensic experts collected evidence at the scene Sunday night, removing
the
bodies from beneath the train cars. Autopsies were to be conducted
Monday.
Subway service at the Victoria Park station was suspended and shuttle
buses
were being used. Service resumed Monday.
There have been some high-profile subway killings in the city in the
last three
decades:
- Sept. 26, 1997 - Charlene Minkowski, 23, was shoved in front of an
oncoming
train. She later died in hospital.
- June 1, 1987 - A 25-year-old woman was dragged across the platform and
almost
tossed onto the tracks. She fought off her attacker until he fled. A man
was
later charged.
- March 31, 1978 - William Darbison, 17, was pushed to his death by a
man who
smiled after the shove.
(Toronto Star, Toronto Sun)
-----------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/23/99 online edition of The
National
Post newspaper:
Monday, August 23, 1999
Man throws himself and boy in front of train
Police investigating murder-suicide at Victoria Park
Chris Michael and Mark Gollom
National Post
TORONTO - A man jumped to his death in front of a subway train at
Victoria Park
station last night, dragging a young boy along with him in what police
are
calling a murder-suicide.
"A man and a young child were standing by the entrance of the subway
platform
where the train comes in," said Detective Mark Mendelson, of Toronto
Police
homicide. "And moments, seconds before the train entered the station
proper the
adult male grabbed onto the smaller child and jumped in front of the
train."
He said the station was not busy at the time and there were only about
five
witnesses to the tragedy.
Mario Kocevar, 40, said he was coming up the escalator to the westbound
platform when he heard a woman screaming.
"When I heard the scream, I initially thought maybe somebody jumped. But
because there was no train there, I discounted it."
He said the train arrived 10 seconds later.
"There was nothing unusual about the way it made its stop. It came to a
normal
stop."
The bodies remained under the westbound train late last night. The
bodies were
to be removed once forensic officers had done their work, police said.
A spokesman for the Toronto Fire department said the driver of the
subway train
saw the man jump first, then pull the boy in front of the train with
him. "The
boy looked about four or five or six, it was hard to tell," said the
spokesman,
who did not want his name used.
Marilyn Bolton, a spokeswoman for the Toronto Transit Commission, said:
"As you
can imagine the staff on the train are pretty upset and will be
receiving
trauma counselling as we always do in these situations," said
Det. Mendelson did not know if the man and the boy were related. He said
the
man appeared to be in his 30s and the child was less than seven years
old.
As of late last night the bodies had not been identified. Once they are
identified, next of kin will be notified, said Det. Mendelson.
One subway rider said he was shocked by the incident. "It makes me
scared to
ride because anyone can push anyone," he said.
Police shut down the subway station in Toronto's east end where the
incident
occurred.
Subway service at the station was suspended and shuttle buses were being
used.
This is not the first tragedy of this sort to strike the Toronto subway
system.
In September, 1997, a paranoid schizophrenic man pushed a 23-year-old
woman
into the path of an oncoming subway train. Charlene Minkowski died
almost
instantly as dozens of horrified commuters looked on helplessly.
Herbert Cheong pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced
to life
in prison without the chance of parole for 15 years.
Shortly after the 23-year-old law clerk's death, several other shovings
occurred on the Toronto subway system, but none of them resulted in
deaths.
In 1995, the Victoria Park station was the scene of a fatal stabbing of
transit
ticket collector Dimitrija Trajceski, who was stabbed 10 times in the
chest.
Adrian Kinkead was convicted of second-degree murder for that crime.
----------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/23/99 online edition of The
Toronto
Star newspaper:
August 23, 1999
Father drags son to death in subway suicide
By Henry Stancu
and Jennifer Quinn
Toronto Star Staff Reporters
Commuters watched helplessly as a man dragging a young boy by the arm
jumped in
front of a TTC subway train at the Victoria Park station last night,
killing
them both.
No names were released but early police reports indicated they were a
father
and son.
Witnesses waiting for the westbound train screamed when the man leapt on
to the
tracks, pulling with him a boy believed to be 5 years old, moments
before the
train pulled in.
Although five commuters standing on the platform told police they saw
the train
pass over the man and boy, those on board were unaware what had happened
until
power was cut. Those witnesses were being interviewed by police last
night,
Detective Mark Mendleson Mendleson said, adding the subway platform
wasn't
particularly crowded.
One witness heard the father speaking with the shaken subway driver
moments
before he died.
``It was terrible. I heard the man talking to the driver. He said he had
his
child with him,'' said the trembling woman. ``The driver asked the man
if he
had jumped. (The driver) was shaking. Everybody was in shock.
``I'm with my child here and I can't understand how anyone could do
something
like this. It's very, very sad.''
The deaths, being investigated by Toronto police homicide detectives as
a
murder-suicide, occurred just before 6:30 p.m.
``I heard screams and thought it was just kids messing around,'' Mario
Kocevar
said. ``To me it looked like a normal stop. Nothing seemed out of place.
I was
sitting on the train and the doors closed just before the lights went
out.''
Mendleson said ``moments - seconds - before the train entered the
station
proper, the adult male grabbed on to the smaller child and jumped in
front of
the train.''
By the time police, ambulance and fire crews arrived, both were dead,
their
bodies trapped beneath the second-last car.
The subway driver was escorted from the station by officers from 41
Division,
and taken away in a police cruiser.
Just before 11 p.m., the westbound train was moved forward and the
bodies of
the man and child were removed. They were taken to the Coroner's
Building for
autopsies, to be performed today.
Police were also towing away a car believed to be connected to the
father.
Mendleson wouldn't confirm it was the man's and said they were doing so
with
``an abundance of caution.''
The station was closed for most of the night and commuters were shuttled
from
neighbouring stations by buses.
Dozens of residents from surrounding high-rise complexes gathered around
the
entrance to the station where emergency crews had left their vehicles as
they
worked.
While suicides in Toronto's subway system aren't unusual, the incident
at the
Victoria Park station last night was a shock, one TTC worker said.
``This kind of thing (subway suicide) happens about three times a week,
but
it's really sad when there's a child involved,'' he said.
On Oct. 23, 1995, TTC fare collector Dimitrija Trajceski was stabbed to
death
at the same station.
With files from Kali Pearson
----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/23/99 online edition of The
Toronto
Sun newspaper:
August 23, 1999
Subway tragedy: Man kills self, son
Youngster was dragged in front of train
By ROB LAMBERTI -- Toronto Sun
A young boy clutching a toy motorcycle was carried to his death under a
TTC
subway train at Victoria Park station by a suicidal man yesterday.
The adult, described as in his 30s, had wrapped his arms around the
boy,
identified by sources as his son and under age seven, before lowering
himself
on to the westbound tracks from the platform just before a train pulled
into
the station.
A TTC worker said suicides are common in the subway system, occurring
about
three times a week. "But it's really sad when there's a child involved,"
he
said, adding the boy was pulled in by the man.
The employee wondered if the child was caught in the middle of a
domestic
dispute.
EXPECTING
A source said police had been called to the man's North York home in
March,
but didn't know if a court order had been issued. The man's wife is
apparently
expecting their second child.
TTC rider Mario Kocvear said he heard "a really loud scream" around
6:30 p.m.
but thought it was some kids fooling around on the platform.
He also noticed people backing away from the platform edge but didn't
know
anything was wrong.
"After a scream, about 10, 15 seconds later, that's when the train
pulled in
," said Kocvear. "It came to a normal stop, nothing seemed out of
place."
But the train's driver had seen the man and boy on the tracks. He was
taken to
41 Division to give a statement.
The child suffered severe head trauma and the man suffered head and
neck
injuries. Both died instantly.
BODIES FOUND
Kocvear said the trains didn't move and the emergency lights came on
before
the doors of the six cars opened.
He then noticed TTC workers huddling around the fourth and fifth cars,
where
the bodies were apparently found.
An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today.
The identities of the father and son were being withheld until the next
of kin
were notified.
TTC subway service between Warden and Woodbine stations was disrupted
for
hours until Toronto Police homicide and forensic officers complete their
on-scene investigation. Last night police were looking into a car that
may have
belonged to the father.