Man found guilty of murdering woman in 2022 Toronto subway stabbing

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 5:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A antheral who stabbed 2 women connected a Toronto subway successful 2022, killing one of them, has been recovered blameworthy of first-degree execution and attempted murder.

Neng Jia Jin volition person an automatic condemnation of beingness successful situation with nary accidental of parole for 25 years for first-degree execution pursuing the determination successful a Toronto tribunal Friday.

The authoritative sentencing is acceptable for May 20. Lawyers appointed as Amicus curiae, after Jin elected to correspond himself successful court, suggested the tribunal besides condemnation him to 10 years for attempted murder. Attempted execution comes with a sentencing scope of six years to life.

Jin had already pleaded blameworthy to first-degree execution and attempted execution astatine a pre-trial proceeding successful February. 

On the day of Dec. 8, 2022, Jin randomly attacked 2 women connected an eastbound subway bid approaching High Park Station, stabbing some respective times, according to the agreed connection of facts. 

WATCH: Woman stabbed to decease connected Toronto subway: 

He injured a 37-year-old woman, according to the tribunal document, and fatally wounded 31-year-old Vanessa Kurpiewska of Toronto. Kurpiewska died successful infirmary soon after. The different pistillate — whom Jin stabbed successful the abdomen, arm, manus and limb — received extended imperishable nervus harm and a carnal scar.

Jin was arrested connected country astatine High Park Station, wherever the bid stopped aft the exigency alarm was pulled, tribunal documents said.

At the commencement of Friday's sentencing proceeding successful a Toronto courtroom, Kurpiewska's mother, with tears successful her eyes, attempted to lunge astatine Jin from the gallery. She was stopped by officers of the tribunal and temporarily removed from the room.

Jin did not cognize the victims, according to tribunal documents.

Kurpiewska's sister work a unfortunate interaction connection successful tribunal connected behalf of her family, saying her sister was a benignant soul, and her decease was a "pure enactment of evil that took her distant and volition haunt the household forever."

A witnesser who tried to prevention Kupiewska from the onslaught told the tribunal successful his ain connection that the incidental had shaken him, causing him to contemplate suicide.

Jin said helium was taking revenge for botched surgery

Jin, a Chinese national, told constabulary aft the stabbing that helium knew the women were innocent, but helium wanted to instrumentality revenge aft a Canadian doc damaged his eyesight during a surgery, according to tribunal documents. 

He said he'd wanted to sue, but a lawyer told him helium couldn't due to the fact that helium had nary ineligible Canadian status, truthful helium wanted to instrumentality revenge connected different innocents.

"I was harmed by Canadians, truthful I person to instrumentality it retired connected you Canadians," helium told constabulary successful Mandarin, speaking done a translator, according to the agreed connection of facts.

In tribunal documents, Jin denied helium was suffering from intelligence illness.

Jin, who entered Canada illegally and is facing a deportation order, told constabulary he's been comfy successful situation since the attack, getting regular meals, structure and aesculapian attraction for his eyes, tribunal documents said. He said helium didn't attraction if helium got a beingness sentence.

Jin considered sidesplitting different radical first

In the hours before the subway attack, video submitted to tribunal showed Jin took a autobus to Kennedy Station successful Scarborough hours earlier the attack. On the autobus ride, footage showed Jin glancing astatine pistillate passengers.

"Initially, I wanted to termination radical connected the bus, but I inactive couldn't spot intelligibly connected the bus," Jin aboriginal said successful his connection to constabulary that day. "Later, I got onto the subway, and I could spot clearly."

Jin took the subway crossed municipality to Royal York Station, according to tribunal documents, wherever surveillance video showed him commencement to stalk a pistillate with resemblance to Kurpiewska, his eventual execution victim.

The video, submitted to court, showed the pistillate effort to evade Jin connected the eastbound platform. 

When the adjacent bid arrived, the pistillate walked to the acold extremity of the level and hid from Jin's sight. She past tried to committee the train, but Jin ran to her car and stuck his limb betwixt the doors to forestall them from closing. The pistillate past jumped backmost disconnected the car done different doorway arsenic Jin got connected and the bid departed.

In an interaction connection work earlier the court, the pistillate said she's been haunted by Jin's look ever since, and has go anxious successful public, paranoid idiosyncratic whitethorn beryllium pursuing her astatine immoderate time.

Jin spent the adjacent hr going backmost and distant betwixt westbound extremity subway stations before boarding an eastbound car astatine Islington Station wherever his eventual victims were already riding conscionable earlier 2 p.m., tribunal documents said.

Soon after, Jin took 2 knives from a container he'd been carrying and stabbed Kurpiewska seven times wherever she sat, earlier moving connected to his 2nd unfortunate seated successful the backmost of the car. As helium attacked her, a Good Samaritan connected the bid intervened to disarm and subdue him until constabulary arrived.

The fatal onslaught was 1 of a bid of convulsive episodes connected TTC property successful 2022 and 2023. They see a teen who was stabbed to decease astatine Keele Station successful March 2023 and the fatal onslaught connected a 27-year-old pistillate successful June 2022, wherever a antheral poured a flammable substance connected her and ignited it.