The Toronto man responsible for the 2023 death of longtime CBC Radio producer Michael Finlay has been sentenced to three years in custody.
With credit for time served, Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, 45, has about 20 months left to serve, then three years probation upon release.
Justice David Porter handed down his sentence in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto Tuesday after Cropearedwolf pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May.
Porter outlined the tragic confluence of events that led to the death, and said Cropearedwolf wasn’t intending to kill when he shoved Finlay on an east end sidewalk on the afternoon of Jan. 24. But the judge also noted Cropearedwolf acted intentionally and was reckless, even if he didn’t intend to harm the 73-year-old, who was suffering from underlying health issues.
“This was not a deliberate attack on an elderly man,” Porter said.
Health issues affected victim
In his decision, Porter outlined how Finlay was walking along Danforth Avenue in the area of Jones Avenue that day when Cropearedwolf approached, with his view obstructed by a mask. He then tried to get past Finlay, shoving the older man and causing him to fall into a wooden planter.
“I had no animosity towards him. I had no prior knowledge of this stranger,” Cropearedwolf said in a statement that was included in Porter’s judgment. Seeing the older man stumble caused him to panic, court heard, and Cropearedwolf took off, while bystanders helped get Finlay up onto a bench.
Cropearedwolf, 45, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Finlay’s death. (Toronto Police Service)
Finlay initially declined medical assistance and walked off, Porter said, but police officers later saw him in distress a short distance away.
He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with injuries including two fractured ribs, but was discharged on Jan. 26 and told to return if his symptoms worsened.
Finlay, Porter said, was suffering with “significant cardiac and pulmonary disease” at the time of the incident, which exacerbated the situation. His injuries might not have been fatal for the average person, the judge said, but were much more serious considering Finlay’s “medically fragile heart” and chronic lung issues.
Finlay later had trouble breathing and called for an ambulance, court heard. On the way to hospital he went into cardiac arrest and was placed on life support, but he was eventually declared dead.
Lengthy criminal history followed ‘tragic’ upbringing, court hears
Porter said Cropearedwolf was unaware of Finlay’s age and frailty at the time of the incident, and was walking down a busy sidewalk with an obscured view. He also said the amount of force used during the assault was on the lower end of the spectrum, and that Cropearedwolf appears to be “truly remorseful” for his actions.
“I have no greater regret,” Cropearedwolf said in his statement to the court.
Porter said Cropearedwolf has a lengthy criminal history, with 65 offences on record between Canada and the United States — most of which were burglaries or robberies, but with some incidents involving violence as well.
The judge also outlined the “tragic and personal circumstances” of Cropearedwolf’s early life Tuesday, which included bouncing from foster home to foster home as a child, and issues with his mother, who dealt with alcoholism.
“Upon the death of his mother he sought refuge in drugs and alcohol,” Porter said.