Judge hands 18-year sentence in ‘brutal’ manslaughter of homeless man on downtown Toronto street
Michelle Walker described her late uncle James Smith as a bright light" who everyone else seemed to walk by and ignore" just because he chose to live his life on the streets.
He was not unloved or unwanted by any means," Walker said Monday. He was not only loved by me but many others. He was not alone."
Walker was delivering a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing of her uncle's killer, Eric Ram, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for stabbing the 54-year-old to death near Yonge and Charles streets in the early hours of June 8, 2019.
Ram was also homeless at the time. He has a substance use disorder and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and meets the criteria for an intellectual disability and schizophrenia, according to a presentence report prepared by a psychiatrist.
While he and Smith frequented the same area in downtown Toronto, they did not know each other.
Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell sentenced the 28-year-old to 18 years in prison, with six years' credit for presentence custody, much of which was spent in harsh lockdown conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sentence was jointly proposed by the Crown and defence.
No sentence could adequately reflect the value of Mr. Smith's life," Forestell said, describing his death as the brutal killing of a vulnerable unarmed man."
Video surveillance from the day of Smith's killing showed Ram, who had used drugs earlier in the day, standing near a Dollarama store looking into the glass for nearly two hours, according to the agreed statement of facts. He can be seen talking to himself.
He then approached Smith, who was sitting on the ground nearby unarmed, and swiped him with a utility knife, causing a superficial cut. The two then briefly spoke and Ram went through Smith's pockets before stabbing him in the neck, killing him.
Sitting in the prisoner's box wearing a blue polo shirt and mask, Ram told the judge he was sorry for my actions" before he was sentenced.
A number of friends and family members gave victim impact statements. Becoming emotional as she delivered hers, Walker described how she's a child of the Sixties Scoop - the removal of Indigenous children from their families and placement in non-Indigenous homes over a period of about 20 years beginning in the 1960s.
She described searching for her biological family as she became an adult, and how she was overcome with immense joy" the first time she met her uncle. James Smith to me was a treasure. He was my uncle. He was my blood. The man I met was very shy, kind, accepting and loving," Walker said.
Other people saw him different. They saw brokenness, addiction, dirt, just another brown-skinned hopeless Indian," she continued, before addressing Ram directly:
Maybe that's what you thought he was, but if that's the case, you were wrong. I saw a strong man who was able to fend for himself in this cold world of judgment and shame."
Smith's daughter, Ashley Anne Boyer, said in her statement that she was estranged from her father at the time of his death, something she says weighs heavily on her. She described the horror and traumatic impact of having to see her father's death replayed and details shared in court during Ram's preliminary hearing.
No child should have to watch their father die over and over again, no child should have to hear the horrific details of their father's death in great detail minute by minute, no child should have to see pictures of their father's fatal wounds on an autopsy table," she said.
No child or adult should have to see their loved one's life taken by another human being."
Ram's father Roger said in a letter of support that his son is taking medication in jail and that he's ready to support him when he re-enters society.
I am very sorry for the death of Mr. Smith, and I am heartbroken that it was at the hands of my son," he wrote.
Jacques Gallant is a Toronto-based reporter covering courts, justice and legal affairs for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @JacquesGallant