Canada Court Rejects Mental Disorder Defence, Convicts Killer Of Kartik Vasudev, Sentences Life

A Canadian court has found Richard Edwin guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Indian student Kartik Vasudev and another man in two separate shootings in 2022, ending a four-year legal battle.

The Superior Court of Toronto , presided over by Justice Jane Kelly , ruled that Edwin was responsible for two unprovoked, random killings carried out on April 7 and April 9, 2022, both involving strangers.

The court confirmed that Edwin admitted to shooting 21-year-old Kartik Vasudev , a Ghaziabad resident and Seneca College student who had arrived in Canada in January 2022 to study management. He was also convicted for killing another victim, Elijah Eleazar Mahepath , in a separate incident two days later.

The defence had argued that Edwin should be declared not criminally responsible (NCR) due to schizophrenia, claiming he could not distinguish right from wrong. While the court accepted that he suffered from schizophrenia at the time , it ruled that he still understood the nature of his actions and rejected the NCR plea.

Judgment records showed Vasudev was walking near Sherbourne station towards Bloor Street East when Edwin approached from behind and fired multiple shots at him , killing him instantly. Police earlier described both attacks as completely random and unprovoked , with no link between the victims and the accused.

Edwin was arrested in 2022 after a swift police manhunt following the two shootings, which occurred within 48 hours in downtown Toronto.

Vasudev’s father, Jitesh Vasudev, said the family finally received justice after attending the final hearing in Canada. The student’s body was later repatriated to Ghaziabad and cremated on the banks of the Hindan river.

The court has sentenced Edwin to life imprisonment without parole , bringing closure to one of Canada’s most closely followed international student murder cases.