Man pleads guilty to stabbing 16-year-old to death at TTC subway station

Jordan O'Brien-Tobin, the man who stabbed a 16-year-old boy to death at a TTC subway station in 2023, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The victim, Gabriel Magalhaes, was on his way home with a friend on March 25 that year when he was attacked at Keele Station on the city's west side. An agreed statement of facts said the stabbing was unprovoked, although text messages on the killer's phone suggest he planned to kill someone that night.

O'Brien-Tobin, a 22-year-old from Newfoundland with a lengthy criminal history, was initially charged with first-degree murder in the case but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge on Wednesday.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Magalhaes and his friend were sitting on a bench on the ground floor of the subway station around 8:53 p.m. when O'Brien-Tobin walked down a nearby staircase.

Security camera footage showed the suspect turning and staring at the pair while they were unaware of him, court documents show. O'Brien-Tobin then briefly left the station, but continued to watch the victim and his friend through a set of automatic doors.

He then put his hand in his backpack, according to the agreed statement of facts, before re-entering the station and heading straight for Magalhaes.

Teenager's lung and heart punctured

“Unprovoked and without any altercation, the suspect stabbed Gabriel in the chest with the knife,” the statement reads. “He then walked away and left the subway station.”

Magalhaes meanwhile fell to the ground. His friend and two bystanders attempted to administer first aid until emergency responders arrived, court documents said. He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9.46pm – less than an hour after O'Brien-Tobin originally spotted him.

An autopsy later showed that the knife had punctured Magalhaes' left lung and heart.

Less than an hour after the stabbing, O'Brien-Tobin, who was unhoused at the time, went to a church on Roncesvalles Avenue on the city's west side, where he spoke with a priest and a member of the parish, according to the agreed agreement. statement of facts.

He was acting “strange” and told them he “felt like killing someone,” the documents said. Members of the church “became concerned” and “escorted him outside.”

O'Brien-Tobin then went to the St. Joseph's Hospital emergency room about 20 minutes later, according to the statement of facts, where police found and arrested him.

Killer admitted to stealing text messages

His backpack was seized and forensic examination revealed Magalhaes' blood in one of the inner compartments. The knife was never found.

Police also examined the killer's mobile phone, the court heard, which revealed chilling messages he had sent to his girlfriends, friends and mother both before and after the murder.

They include “someone dying TN”, but also “I just stabbed someone randomly” and “I stabbed someone and got away with it.”

Last year, two of Magalhaes' former classmates set up a small memorial for their friend outside the station, hoping to help others remember him.

Francesa Zalik said at the time that Magalhaes was the friendliest member of their group of friends.

“He was so funny. Such a funny, sweet guy,” Zalik said.

In the wake of his death, the victim's mother, Andrea Magalhaes, advocated for more resources for people in crisis, at a time when attacks on the TTC were raising alarm.

“We need more social services. We need more investment in physical and mental health. We need more support for housing,” she said. “I feel like since things are going the way they are going now, so many people are going to suffer the horrible pain that I'm going through right now.”

Second-degree murder in Canada carries an automatic life sentence. Now it's up to the trial judge to decide the time frame before O'Brien-Tobin can apply for parole.

The Crown demands 16 to 18 years, while the defense demands 10 to 14 years.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 2025.