Minassian drops appeal of Toronto van attack convictions

Alek Minassian, the man convicted in the 2018 Toronto van attack, has abandoned his appeal of the convictions, ending a legal challenge that had been before Ontario’s top court since 2022, CBC News, Global News, The Globe and Mail and TorontoToday reported Friday.

Minassian had appealed his convictions on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. With the appeal dropped, the verdicts and the sentence handed down at trial stand.

The attack happened on April 23, 2018, when Minassian deliberately drove a rented van along a busy sidewalk in north Toronto. Ten people were killed and others were injured.

Minassian admitted at trial that he planned and carried out the attack. His defence argued he should be found not criminally responsible because of his autism spectrum disorder. Justice Anne Molloy rejected that argument in a decision that found he was able to make rational choices and was criminally responsible.

He was sentenced in June 2022 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. A month later, in July 2022, he filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. His lawyer argued the trial judge had misunderstood expert psychiatric evidence and asked that he be found not criminally responsible or that a new trial be ordered.

The reports published Friday said the Court of Appeal for Ontario had recorded that the appeal was abandoned. The reports reviewed by Canada News Media did not give the date of the court’s notice or a reason for the decision.

An abandoned appeal means the court will not rule on the arguments his lawyer had raised about the psychiatric evidence. The conviction and sentence are now final unless the court allows a late application, which none of the outlets reported.

The attack is one of the deadliest in Toronto’s history and led to calls for changes in how Canadian institutions respond to online radicalization and to violence against women. The victims were mostly women. Their families and the survivors have attended the court proceedings over the past eight years.

Minassian’s decision means no further appeal hearings will be held in the case. The Court of Appeal for Ontario sits at Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto.

This story is based on reporting by CBC News, Global News, The Globe and Mail and TorontoToday, and on earlier court coverage of the trial and sentencing. Canada News Media will update it if the court or the Crown releases more information.

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