A Toronto man who fatally stabbed a stranger at a TTC subway station has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 24, was given his sentence by Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly in a downtown courtroom on Friday, nearly two years after the killing of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes in 2023.
O’Brien-Tobin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November 2024. The charge carries an automatic life sentence, but at issue was the period of parole ineligibility between 10 and 25 years. The Crown had been asking for a period of 18 years, while the defence was seeking 12 years.
“It was random and it was a self-centred act of violence. Had Gabriel not been there that day, someone else’s friend, son, could have been a victim of Mr. O’Brien-Tobin’s senseless crime,” Kelly said.
“It seemed planned. Mr. O’Brien-Tobin seems likely to reoffend. He is a danger to our community.”
According to an agreed statement of fact read out in court, on March 25, 2023, Gabriel was at Keele subway station with a friend on his way home when he was approached by O’Brien-Tobin and stabbed in the chest.
Court heard O’Brien-Tobin watched Gabriel and his friend after he first spotted them waiting for a train. He stared at the boys while they sat on a bench, left the station and watched them as they walked through a set of automatic doors before approaching, reaching into his backpack and stabbing him.
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Gabriel’s friend and two bystanders attempted to provide first aid until paramedics arrived. Gabriel was rushed to hospital by emergency run, but was pronounced dead at 9:46 p.m. An autopsy revealed that a single stab wound to the chest injured Gabriel’s left lung, pericardium and heart, causing his death.
Roughly 20 minutes later, O’Brien-Tobin entered the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. Police found him sitting in the emergency room, where he was arrested.
His backpack was seized and forensically examined. Blood on one of the inner compartments was found to have belonged to Gabriel. The knife was never located.
A forensic examination was also completed on O’Brien-Tobin’s cellphone. Officers discovered he was sending messages to his girlfriend, friends and mother before and after the murder.
The messages included “someone’s dying TN,” “I just stabbed someone random” and “I stabbed someone and got away with it.”
Kelly told court that O’Brien-Tobin is a recidivist and his criminal record and history show that he is unmanageable, uncontrollable and dangerous.
The judge said he has almost 200 convictions on his record including several offences for crimes of violence. She noted he has shown an utter disdain for court orders and was on probation at the time he committed this offence.
“Two weeks after having been convicted and released from custody for sexually assaulting a rider on a Toronto subway, Mr. O’Brien-Tobin committed this murder in a TTC station,” said Kelly.
Kelly said Friday that Gabriel’s slaying has had “devastating consequences” for several people.
“It was a random act of violence exacted on a 16-year-old stranger. The consequences of Gabriel’s murder are unspeakably tragic for his family,” Kelly said.
In a victim impact statement read out in court earlier this month, Magalhaes’ mother wrote about the indescribable sadness and despair she has felt since losing her son that day.
“It takes every single ounce of strength I have to continue living,” Andrea Magalhaes wrote.
“I failed the single most important job of my existence: to keep my son safe. I fear for the life of my son Lucas, I fear for all the children out there. If only love alone could protect our children. I will never again be able to feel safe. I will never again sleep peacefully at night.”
Kelly on Friday also talked about the wider impact the incident had.
“His murder has had a chilling effect on members of the community generally, and specifically those who access the TTC,” Kelly said.
“It shocked our community and has made riders on the subway feel unsafe.”
The stabbing unfolded during a time when violence on the TTC network was making headlines. At the time, the TTC said it would spend $5 million to improve safety following a series of violent incidents, including stabbings, BB gun shootings and an alleged swarming.
The measures included an increase in the presence of special constables, supervisors, trained community safety ambassadors and outreach teams.
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