Lovingston Williams had 47 criminal convictions, including for violent crimes, assaults and robberies, when he attacked a 69-year-old stranger using a cane at Yonge-Bloor Subway Station in the summer of 2023.
In a downtown Toronto courtroom Monday, Williams pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the unprovoked assault on Menghsteab Araia, a retiree who the court heard came to Canada 20 years earlier from Eritrea.
According to an agreed statement of facts, as Araia was walking towards an elevator near the entrance of the station around 6:30 p.m. on July 7, 2023, Williams walked straight towards him and bumped him for no reason. The incident caught on surveillance video showed Williams aggressively posturing at Araia him, including cocking his right hand back as if to strike.
Araia is then seen taking a defensive posture and bracing for more hits. Williams grabs the cane Araia was relying on to keep balance, causing him to lurch forward. The accused then yanks the cane a second time, which causes Araia to lose balance and fall forward on his right hip. Williams then promptly walks away from the scene.
The facts state that a crowd quickly convened around Araia to assist him, including trying to help him get up onto his feet, but he was not strong enough to pull himself up.
“The accused then inexplicably returns to the decedent, grabs his cane from the ground, and throws it into the crowd before walking away off screen again,” it states.
Williams exited the subway station, and as he left, he continued to push and bump several random people. He was arrested minutes later walking southbound on Yonge Street from the TTC.
Araia was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a right hip fracture. Doctors learned of Araia’s medical and physical vulnerabilities, but decided operating on him was necessary, although risky. One month later, he suffered multiple complications and eventually succumbed to those complications and died.
An autopsy determined he died from complications arising from blunt impact hip trauma.
After the guilty plea, Joseph Ghedremichael told court in his victim impact statement how his brother will forever be remembered as a nice, generous man who touched the lives of every person he met.
“I don’t want to be sad when I think of Menghstaeb. I have to get the image of what the assailant did to him out of my mind. I lay awake at night thinking about what to write in this letter: sometimes sad, angry, sometimes sorrow. One common thing, it is always painful,” said Ghedremichael.
Assistant Crown attorney Matthew Boissonneault told Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly that the Crown and defence were jointly submitting that five years in prison would be an appropriate sentence for Williams.
An extensive criminal history
Boissonneault then spoke to Williams’ extensive criminal history and takeaways from various reports done in 2018 after convictions for different offences.
“The reports support potential personality disorder and polysubstance abuse,” said Boissonneault, who told court that his alcohol and cannabis use precipitates his violence. The Crown pointed out that Williams doesn’t take counselling when released back into the community
Of the 48 convictions to date — counting the latest for the subway station incident among them — the Crown said 17 were for violent crimes, including assaults and robberies and a pattern of becoming increasingly violent. “He has a track record of assault on public transit,” said Boissonneault.
In one case in April 2017, he acted aggressively towards a family at Dufferin Subway Station and pulled a seven-to-eight-inch knife on the father before bystanders intervened and Williams fled.
In March 2018, the Crown said he punched a man in the face in Mississauga. Later that day, he pulled a knife on a man and then later on a bus in Mississauga, he poured a drink on the victim before robbing him of his cell phone.
In January 2019, Boissonneault said Williams brandished a box cutter at the Square One terminal in Mississauga and punched the victim in the face. And then in February 2021, in an unprovoked attack, he punched a 15-year-old boy in the face in a bus bay in Mississauga.
“Five arrests for randomly assaulting strangers since 2017, resulting in 10 convictions,” Boissonneault told the judge.
“He has demonstrated he is incorrigible and increasingly violent at places where people should feel safe. Four separate times, he’s been ordered to participate in counselling for alcohol and drugs. Two times ordered to take anger management programs. He’s chosen not to participate each time. He’s done nothing over the past few years to address his challenges despite knowing these contribute to his criminality.”
He added, “Mr. Williams contributed to the pervasive sense of fear people feel when taking public transit in this city. This was a cowardly and callous attack on a vulnerable person in the city’s busiest transit hub. Williams further humiliated him by throwing his cane. The Crown submits that he disregarded warning signs culminating in him killing an innocent man.”
Williams apologizes in court
Defence lawyer Harnoor Singh told Kelly that Williams now realizes he needs to turn his life around and has taken anger management and substance abuse programs in jail since his arrest for manslaughter.
Williams then stood up and briefly apologized for his actions. “I’m very sorry, I should have been more responsible,” he said.
Kelly agreed to the joint submission and sentenced Williams to a five-year penitentiary sentence, acknowledging his remorse and the rehabilitative work he’s done while awaiting sentencing.
She gave him 1,025 credits for pre-sentence custody, including 32 days for harsh conditions while in lockdown. Williams has 26 months and 10 days remaining on his sentence. He was also given a DNA order and a lifetime weapons prohibition.
The Crown has withdrawn a second count of obstructing police.