elmst200
Jul 25th, 2012, 11:55 PM
The killing took place at Toronto Main St library Thursday December 02, 2010. RFD had some exposures on this.
Latese development is the killer pleads guilty of 2nd degree murder.
The Star article on Wednesday July 25, 2012
Crossbow killer pleads guilty to second-degree murder
Published on Wednesday July 25, 2012
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/1231806--crossbow-killer-pleads-guilty-to-second-degree-murder
Betsy Powell
Courts Bureau
WARNING: THIS REPORT CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS
A man who walked into a busy Toronto public library and fired a crossbow bolt into his father’s back, then crushed his skull in with a hammer, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Zhou Fang, now 26, was charged with first-degree murder of Si Cheng, 52, after the shocking afternoon incident on Dec. 2, 2010, inside the Main Street branch.
But the prosecution accepted a plea to the lesser offence after considering that Fang was the subject of “long term and horrible abuse at the hands of his father,” Crown attorney Mike Callaghan told Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday.
That’s not to suggest the Crown finds the abuse “in any way justifies the murder or the unlawfulness of it,” Callaghan said, adding the seriousness of Fang’s conduct is reflected in the mandatory life sentence he faces.
From the time he was a baby, “Fang was the victim of deprivation, beatings and what can only be described as psychological torture,” Crown attorney Jessica Smith-Joy said, reading from an agreed statement of facts.
He also witnessed “ongoing and severe instances of domestic violence committed by his father against his mother, Nora Fang,” she said. Cheng was convicted of abuse against the pair on numerous occasions, and there is a significant history of police and Children’s Aid Society intervention.
A senior forensic psychiatrist who assessed Fang described the abuse as “one of the worst and most chronic child abuse (and spousal abuse) scenarios” he had encountered. He concluded that Fang suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Cheng’s reign of terror included molesting and urinating on his son. He choked Fang when he tried to protect his mother from being sexually abused.
Cheng also killed Fang’s pet birds, forced him to eat his own vomit, and subjected him to relentless threats if the abuse was revealed.
Even though the physical abuse ceased in 2002, and Fang and his mother relocated to Ottawa, the pair constantly lived in fear that Cheng would find and kill them, the prosecutor said.
“Mr. Fang at times thought he saw his father in Ottawa,” Smith-Joy said.
Whether Cheng was ever in Ottawa isn’t known, but the two alleged sightings “undoubtedly felt very real to him,” his lawyer, Mark Sandler, told court.
Fang and his mother wore bullet-proof jackets and Kevlar SWAT fire hoods at home, fearing Cheng might set fire to their residence. He hired private investigators, wrote to the Queen and Governor General for help, and acquired weapons, including the crossbow.
Fang’s fear peaked in late 2010, when he travelled by bus from Ottawa to Toronto, rented a U-Haul van, and entered the Main Street library with a crossbow, pepper spray and hammer.
“By the time the crossbow was purchased, he had considered using it offensively and not just defensively,” wrote the psychiatrist who assessed Fang.
In a handwritten apology that Sandler read to court, Fang stated he was “totally convinced” that his “lifelong tormenter” was “bent on killing me and my mother.”
Wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit, beard and glasses, Fang sat expressionless through most of the proceeding, but was alert and responded clearly and politely when the judge asked if the agreed facts were correct.
One of three witnesses who submitted a victim impact statement wrote he had also been raised in an abusive family and plagued with psychological issues, some of the “demons” returning as a result of seeing the violent event occur.
In spite of this, he asked that mercy be shown to Fang, something Sandler said “showed a largeness of spirit” and appreciation of the “larger context.”
The Crown and defence are asking the judge to impose a parole ineligibility period of 10 years. The maximum is 25 years.
Fang will be sentenced Sept. 4.
The Star original article on the same day of the killing
Man shot dead with crossbow inside Main St. library
Published on Thursday December 02, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/900745--police-arrest-suspect-after-man-killed-with-crossbow-inside-main-st-library?bn=1
Tamara Baluja, and Cynthia Vukets
Staff Reporters
A man was shot dead with a crossbow inside a library bustling with children and their parents in broad daylight on Thursday.
Police had a man in his 30s in custody shortly after the incident, at the Main St. library, said Const. Tony Vella. The suspect was arrested in Scarborough.
The victim had not yet been identified Thursday evening and police said they were still searching for a motive in the bizarre killing.
“It’s definitely a very unique situation,” said Vella, “a first.”
He said the fact the shooting occurred in such a public place made it of “particular” concern.
The victim was killed inside the library, near Gerrard St. E., in front of a number of witnesses, including children who were at the library with their parents. No one else was injured.
Emergency medical services told the Star the victim had been shot in the back.
“There were a lot of people in the immediate area,” said Vella.
Homicide investigators questioned a number of witnesses at several nearby police stations. The suspect was being held at 55 Division and police were looking through surveillance video from the surrounding area Thursday evening.
Vella was unable to confirm rumours that the victim had been pepper sprayed before being shot.
Linus Smith, who works at a restaurant across the street from the library, said she saw a middle-aged man with black hair and a dark jacket come out of the library with something in his hand and jump into a U-Haul truck just after 4 p.m. He appeared calm, she said, and drove away.
An elderly man was running after the suspect, she said, and wrote down the vehicle’s licence plate.
The suspect was arrested in Scarborough because police “quickly received information, they acted on that information,” said Vella. He added police were not yet looking for any other suspects, but were focused on learning more about the reason behind the brazen attack.
“The motivation is still unclear at this point,” Vella said.
Residents in the area expressed shock over the afternoon shooting.
The Main St. branch is Fran Pougnet’s library, her “little, quiet happy place.” She’s lived just down the street for a year and said she feels safe in the neighbourhood.
“At the library of all places!” she said, while surveying the scene from the opposite sidewalk.
Tanya Lazarova was on the phone with her worried daughter about an hour after police arrived. Lazarova has been working at a salon directly across from the library for six years. “Very scary,” she said.
Jeffrey Smith, who lives in the area and works at a coffee shop across from the library, said he always feels safe walking in the neighbourhood.
“It’s usually quiet,” he said. “I’ve been here for four years, never seen anything like this.”
Latese development is the killer pleads guilty of 2nd degree murder.
The Star article on Wednesday July 25, 2012
Crossbow killer pleads guilty to second-degree murder
Published on Wednesday July 25, 2012
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/1231806--crossbow-killer-pleads-guilty-to-second-degree-murder
Betsy Powell
Courts Bureau
WARNING: THIS REPORT CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS
A man who walked into a busy Toronto public library and fired a crossbow bolt into his father’s back, then crushed his skull in with a hammer, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Zhou Fang, now 26, was charged with first-degree murder of Si Cheng, 52, after the shocking afternoon incident on Dec. 2, 2010, inside the Main Street branch.
But the prosecution accepted a plea to the lesser offence after considering that Fang was the subject of “long term and horrible abuse at the hands of his father,” Crown attorney Mike Callaghan told Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday.
That’s not to suggest the Crown finds the abuse “in any way justifies the murder or the unlawfulness of it,” Callaghan said, adding the seriousness of Fang’s conduct is reflected in the mandatory life sentence he faces.
From the time he was a baby, “Fang was the victim of deprivation, beatings and what can only be described as psychological torture,” Crown attorney Jessica Smith-Joy said, reading from an agreed statement of facts.
He also witnessed “ongoing and severe instances of domestic violence committed by his father against his mother, Nora Fang,” she said. Cheng was convicted of abuse against the pair on numerous occasions, and there is a significant history of police and Children’s Aid Society intervention.
A senior forensic psychiatrist who assessed Fang described the abuse as “one of the worst and most chronic child abuse (and spousal abuse) scenarios” he had encountered. He concluded that Fang suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Cheng’s reign of terror included molesting and urinating on his son. He choked Fang when he tried to protect his mother from being sexually abused.
Cheng also killed Fang’s pet birds, forced him to eat his own vomit, and subjected him to relentless threats if the abuse was revealed.
Even though the physical abuse ceased in 2002, and Fang and his mother relocated to Ottawa, the pair constantly lived in fear that Cheng would find and kill them, the prosecutor said.
“Mr. Fang at times thought he saw his father in Ottawa,” Smith-Joy said.
Whether Cheng was ever in Ottawa isn’t known, but the two alleged sightings “undoubtedly felt very real to him,” his lawyer, Mark Sandler, told court.
Fang and his mother wore bullet-proof jackets and Kevlar SWAT fire hoods at home, fearing Cheng might set fire to their residence. He hired private investigators, wrote to the Queen and Governor General for help, and acquired weapons, including the crossbow.
Fang’s fear peaked in late 2010, when he travelled by bus from Ottawa to Toronto, rented a U-Haul van, and entered the Main Street library with a crossbow, pepper spray and hammer.
“By the time the crossbow was purchased, he had considered using it offensively and not just defensively,” wrote the psychiatrist who assessed Fang.
In a handwritten apology that Sandler read to court, Fang stated he was “totally convinced” that his “lifelong tormenter” was “bent on killing me and my mother.”
Wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit, beard and glasses, Fang sat expressionless through most of the proceeding, but was alert and responded clearly and politely when the judge asked if the agreed facts were correct.
One of three witnesses who submitted a victim impact statement wrote he had also been raised in an abusive family and plagued with psychological issues, some of the “demons” returning as a result of seeing the violent event occur.
In spite of this, he asked that mercy be shown to Fang, something Sandler said “showed a largeness of spirit” and appreciation of the “larger context.”
The Crown and defence are asking the judge to impose a parole ineligibility period of 10 years. The maximum is 25 years.
Fang will be sentenced Sept. 4.
The Star original article on the same day of the killing
Man shot dead with crossbow inside Main St. library
Published on Thursday December 02, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/900745--police-arrest-suspect-after-man-killed-with-crossbow-inside-main-st-library?bn=1
Tamara Baluja, and Cynthia Vukets
Staff Reporters
A man was shot dead with a crossbow inside a library bustling with children and their parents in broad daylight on Thursday.
Police had a man in his 30s in custody shortly after the incident, at the Main St. library, said Const. Tony Vella. The suspect was arrested in Scarborough.
The victim had not yet been identified Thursday evening and police said they were still searching for a motive in the bizarre killing.
“It’s definitely a very unique situation,” said Vella, “a first.”
He said the fact the shooting occurred in such a public place made it of “particular” concern.
The victim was killed inside the library, near Gerrard St. E., in front of a number of witnesses, including children who were at the library with their parents. No one else was injured.
Emergency medical services told the Star the victim had been shot in the back.
“There were a lot of people in the immediate area,” said Vella.
Homicide investigators questioned a number of witnesses at several nearby police stations. The suspect was being held at 55 Division and police were looking through surveillance video from the surrounding area Thursday evening.
Vella was unable to confirm rumours that the victim had been pepper sprayed before being shot.
Linus Smith, who works at a restaurant across the street from the library, said she saw a middle-aged man with black hair and a dark jacket come out of the library with something in his hand and jump into a U-Haul truck just after 4 p.m. He appeared calm, she said, and drove away.
An elderly man was running after the suspect, she said, and wrote down the vehicle’s licence plate.
The suspect was arrested in Scarborough because police “quickly received information, they acted on that information,” said Vella. He added police were not yet looking for any other suspects, but were focused on learning more about the reason behind the brazen attack.
“The motivation is still unclear at this point,” Vella said.
Residents in the area expressed shock over the afternoon shooting.
The Main St. branch is Fran Pougnet’s library, her “little, quiet happy place.” She’s lived just down the street for a year and said she feels safe in the neighbourhood.
“At the library of all places!” she said, while surveying the scene from the opposite sidewalk.
Tanya Lazarova was on the phone with her worried daughter about an hour after police arrived. Lazarova has been working at a salon directly across from the library for six years. “Very scary,” she said.
Jeffrey Smith, who lives in the area and works at a coffee shop across from the library, said he always feels safe walking in the neighbourhood.
“It’s usually quiet,” he said. “I’ve been here for four years, never seen anything like this.”