Winnipeg cab driver was 'brutally murdered for just trying to provide,' family says in sentencing statement
Okoth Obeing, 23, was found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in March 2020 stabbing death of driver Balvir Toor
Balvir Toor's wife, children and nephew still struggle with knowing they were sleeping peacefully when the 44-year-old taxi driver was screaming in pain after being stabbed in his cab in the early morning hours of March 19, 2020.
That's according to a victim impact statement prepared by the family and read out by Crown attorney Monique Cam on Thursday morning, during a sentencing hearing for the man found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing.
"It hurts to think about all the pain that he went through," Cam said, reading from the statement as the family observed the proceedings from their new home in Edmonton.
"It is really unfair that a man who was smiling and doing his job lost his life for no reason."
Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Joan McKelvey found Okoth Obeing, 23, guilty of second-degree murder in Toor's death last month.
McKelvey acknowledged in her decision that Obeing lives with bipolar disorder, and that illness is compounded by his intellectual disability, but she rejected his lawyers' argument that he was not criminally responsible for the killing.
He knew what he was doing and was able to understand the consequences of his actions, she ruled, saying the killing was fuelled by Obeing's rage over being asked for prepayment for the cab ride, as well as his racism and animus toward South Asian people.
A second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for a minimum of 10 years. The Crown argued Obeing shouldn't be eligible for parole for at least 15 years, saying the killing was a vicious, racially motivated attack.
"In this case, Mr. Obeing's hatred towards individuals of South Asian descent manifested in a violent manner with devastating consequences," Cam told the court.
"This court's response to his behaviour must adequately reflect society's rejection of this behaviour in order to give credence to this country's values of multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion."
She also told the court taxi drivers are particularly vulnerable due to the nature of their job, which involves working alone and at night.
Alex Steigerwald, Obeing's lawyer, told McKelvey that even though his client did not meet the bar for a not criminally responsible defence, his mental functioning at the time of the killing should be considered in his sentence.
"Even though his intent was fuelled by rage and animus, his mental health was at the forefront of his actions," Steigerwald told the court. "Mr. Obeing had a disorganized mind, he had a manic mind."
Steigerwald argued Obeing should be eligible for parole after the minimum period of 10 years.
His client is still a relatively young man who had a difficult upbringing, Steigerwald said. His family has roots in South Sudan but he was born in Ethiopia, where he lived in a refugee camp before coming to Canada.
He could face deportation because he's a permanent resident and not a Canadian citizen, the defence lawyer said.
Anger over prepayment sparked killing
Court had heard that when he got into Toor's cab early in the morning of March 19, 2020, Obeing was still angry following an earlier hostile interaction in another cab sparked by a driver asking for payment upfront.
When Toor also asked for prepayment, Obeing perceived it as disrespect "and his anger erupted into murder," court was told.
Around 5:30 a.m., he leaned forward from the back seat of the cab and stabbed Toor from behind 17 times, with the driver in no position to defend himself. Video of the killing captured on camera inside the taxi was previously played for the court.
Toor's wife, Parmjit, said in the victim impact statement that she usually prepared lunches for her husband in the morning before she went to work.
On March 19, she had wanted him to come for lunch due to concerns over COVID-19, but she didn't call him when she woke up around 5 a.m. because she worried he would be busy, court heard.
"She still regrets that — maybe if she would have called him, she would have maybe helped him survive," Cam said, reading from the family's statement.
Toor's family — his wife, his daughters Manpreet and Harmanpreet, and his son Jashanpreet — left Winnipeg after he was killed because they no longer felt safe, court heard.
"What had our father done wrong? He was the nicest and kindest human being we knew and he was brutally murdered for just trying to provide for his family," they said in the statement.
"How were we supposed to feel safe in a city where a person is murdered for just working and providing for his family?"
Justice McKelvey will give her sentencing decision on May 12.
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With files from Caitlyn Gowriluk