2 men given life sentences for shooting that killed Regent Park youth worker

Two men were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a Regent Park youth worker.

A jury convicted Noah Anderson, 24, and Junior Jahmal Harvey, 23, in April, nearly four years after 27-year-old Thane Murray was gunned down in a Toronto parking lot while sitting and chatting with friends.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts sentenced Anderson and Harvey to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years, as is required by law for a first-degree murder conviction. 

Both men have also been given two life sentences for the attempted murder of Allen Uthayakumaran and Tony Nguyen, the friends Murray was with that night. The Crown had asked for concurrent life sentences, while defence lawyers had asked for concurrent sentences in the range of 12 to 15 years, noting their lack of previous criminal records. 

After the sentencing, Murray's parents told CBC Toronto outside the courthouse that every day since their son's death has been a struggle. 

"He was a happy kid, very happy. He got along with everybody. He had no enemies, zero. I'm so proud of him," said his mother, Dawn Murray, speaking through tears. "We all miss him."

Asked about the sentence, Murray's father, Randy Hamilton, said he couldn't ask for a better decision.

"It's never going to bring our son back, but at least we had some type of closure," he said. 

Hamilton said he hopes the life sentences will set an example and deter others from committing similar violent acts.

'Very high degree of planning,' judge rules

On Sept. 18, 2021, Murray and his childhood friends Uthayakumaran and Nguyen were chatting in a parking lot area in Regent Park. 

"The victims were completely innocent; guilty of nothing more than sitting, chatting, enjoying a warm late-summer evening," Roberts said in her decision.

Uthayakumaran was shot nine times, while Nguyen was shot only once, which the judge said was "not through lack of effort on the part of the shooters."

"Mr. Nguyen was simply the first to notice the shooters and run," she said.

Murray was shot 14 times and died at the scene. "He was executed," Roberts said. 

Meanwhile, Uthayakumaran was in a coma for three months. 

"There are a number of very significant aggravating circumstances," Roberts noted in her decision. She said the violence was "extreme" and "involved a very high degree of planning and deliberation."

Roberts described the shooting as "senseless," saying there was no evidence that Anderson or Harvey knew any of the victims.

Murray was beloved by the community and by his family, the judge noted.

His mother, father, brother, grandmother, sister and aunt, as well as friends, community members and teachers provided victim impact statements in court, describing their loss. His mother, in particular, said in her statement that she still can't bring herself to look at his picture.

"I'm dying on the inside," Dawn Murray told the court.