The man who shot Daniella Mallia just days after she begged Toronto Police for help has been found guilty of first-degree murder.
Dylon Dowman, 35, now faces an automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole for 25 years.
Dowman is the one who pulled the trigger and executed the 23-year-old in an underground parking lot in North York – just as he threatened he would do. But some of the blame must be shared by the police officers who heard her trembling in fear as she worked up the courage to call them and show them Dowman’s terrifying texts.
“You still breathing cause I say so. Don’t f- with me,” he texted. “I’m a laugh at you when I show you your played dangerous game, ain’t no coming back from death. Your (sic) done. I promise you that.“
Mallia knew what Dowman was capable of doing.
“He’s going to kill me,” she told the police outside her apartment building on Aug. 15, 2022.
And yet the officers accused Mallia of “instigating” the conflict, reduced her fears to a “he said-she said” situation and advised her to get a peace bond.
They even emailed her later that night: “This is a written caution to (cease) all forms of contact with him and move on with your life. Failing to do so you can get arrested. Both you and Dylon are subjects to criminal harassment.“
Three days later, a man was seen on security video grabbing Mallia off the sidewalk, forcing her into the underground garage at 2265 Jane St. – north of Wilson Ave. – and pulling out a gun from his backpack. As she seemed to be begging for her life, he shot her.
Her story of fear and police inaction prompted such public outrage that Chief Myron Demkiw met with Mallia’s family and later issued a statement.
“As Chief, I am concerned about the alleged misconduct in this case, and want to reassure the public, particularly those who are vulnerable, that officers respond to Intimate Partner Violence calls on a daily basis, and they do so with compassion and professionalism,” Demkiw said in his statement at the time.
“Those who fail to follow procedure or to meet our clear professional standards will be held to account,” he added.
The jury didn’t hear that Const. Sang Youb Lee and his partner, Const. Anson Alfonso, were charged with misconduct-related offences under the Police Services Act for allegedly taking “no action to protect” Mallia despite having the evidence to arrest Dowman for uttering threats.
In the hearing notice, the pair is accused of having spoken with Dowman over the phone for only three minutes, warning him to stay away from Mallia and that they “improperly considered the case to be a ‘he said, she said.’” They also cautioned Mallia, though the evidence suggested she was the victim.
Mallia told them she didn’t want “another Black man” going to jail and declined to give an official police statement, saying she also worried about how he would retaliate – but it is protocol for police to lay charges in cases of intimate partner violence if there’s enough evidence.
Lee pleaded guilty to neglect of duty and after an emotional apology to Mallia’s family, who said they didn’t want to see him fired, he was demoted for one year.
Alfonso’s charges are still outstanding.
A sentencing hearing for Dowman – where Mallia’s family will deliver victim impact statements – is scheduled for next week.