Daniella Mallia stood under a tree on Aug. 15, 2022, outside her apartment on Finch Avenue and cried as she told officers about why she wanted a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Dylon Dowman.
The 23-year-old can be seen on police body-worn camera video telling Const. Sang Youb Lee and Const. Anson Alfonso, both of Toronto police, that her on-and-off boyfriend of five years harasses her — and she is afraid.
In court on Monday, Const. Lee testified at the first-degree murder trial for Dylan Dowman about responding to the call that day. The body camera footage was also played.
In the video, Mallia is seen showing the officers her cellphone with text messages that appear to say, “You still breathing cause I say so,” and, “Ain’t no coming back from death, your (sic) done. I promise you that.”
The footage played showed Const. Alfonso telling her that police take domestics very seriously. “Depending on what you say, if we find a criminal element attached to it, he may be arrested,” says Alfonso.
At first, Alphonso questions how she knows text messages from a particular email address are Dowman. Mallia responds: “It’s him, that’s his iCloud. I know it’s him because I don’t have other people in my life who pull the bull—- that he does.”
Lee then tells Mallia that they’re going to call Dowman to tell him to stop contacting her. They also tell her to move on with her life. “I’m trying, I’m trying,” says Mallia, her voice cracking.
“If he ever shows up here, lock your door, call 911,” the officers caution her before saying they need a statement from her in order for investigators to lay charges.
Mallia asks about making a statement, questioning whether Dowman will definitely be charged if she makes one. “We don’t know where it’s going — right now it’s in a grey area,” Alfonso says. Lee explains that if investigators decide to lay a charge, they will need a statement. Alfonso tells Mallia they are not investigators and in the end, it’s up to them.
Mallia then asks about a restraining order which she believes might be the best route to go and is told she will have to go to the Finch Avenue courthouse to get a peace bond. When Lee asks what makes her not want to get Dowman charged, Mallia says through tears, “I’m not the type to put a Black man behind bars. I’m not that girl. I don’t want to do this. I never wanted to do this. I only did this because I don’t feel safe. I can’t relax anymore.”
Clearly upset, she decides in the end not to give a statement. Const. Alfonso tells Mallia her safety is number one. “No one deserves to be scared like this, you’re young,” says Lee.
Mallia agrees to send the officers the text messages she’s received from Dowman and they tell her that they will contact him to warn him to stay away from her. “We’re definitely going to give him a call and speak to him. My partner has a way of calling people and setting them straight,” says Lee, urging Mallia to go to the courthouse to get a restraining order.
Lee testified that he and Alfonso got into their police car after speaking with Mallia and after they left, she sent them screenshots of the threats. Lee said Alfonso then called Dowman and told him to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend.
Lee said Dowman replied that Mallia wasn’t an ex-girlfriend, but rather an acquaintance. Dowman agreed he would no longer contact her.
Later that afternoon, Lee said Dowman sent him an email which read: “Hello my name is Dylon Dowman, we spoke this afternoon, so Daniella keeps contacting me, and she admit lying to police because she was high, here are my screenshots.”
The jury has seen video surveillance taken from 2265 Jane St. three days later.
As Mallia is walking towards a courtyard at 2265 Jane St., a man is seen grabbing her around the neck from behind, before dragging her into an underground parkade, where she is held against her will. The man pulls a gun out of a backpack and points at her, as she tries to escape. He blocks her path before shooting her multiple times.
The man, whose identity is at issue, then conceals the gun and walks off. Video shows him walking down the street, getting onto a TTC bus and going to a nearby mall. Mallia was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dylan Dowman has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. The trial continues.