The man who viciously stabbed 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes to death at the TTC’s Keele station has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole for at least 18 years.
Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 24, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in the unprovoked and “senseless” March 25, 2023 slaying of Magalhaes as he and his friend were waiting for a subway to take them home.
“Mr. O’Brien-Tobin’s criminal record and history show that he is unmanageable in our community. He is uncontrollable. He is dangerous,” said Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly as she pronounced sentence on Friday morning.
“I am satisfied that Mr. O’Brien-Tobin represents a continuing danger to our society. A sentence of life imprisonment is not only mandatory but it is also manifestly fit and appropriate.”
A forensic examination of his cellphone found O’Brien-Tobin had been sending chilling messages to his girlfriends, friends and mother both before and after the murder, including “Someones (sic) dying TN,” “I just stabbed someone random” and “I stabbed someone and got away with it.”
Kelly said the killer already had 200 criminal convictions — including one for sexual assault on the TTC just two weeks earlier. He was released on time served of 100 days and was on probation at the time when he stabbed the teen in the chest.
“The murder of Gabriel has had a devastating effect on his family. No one deserves such a fate,” Kelly said. “The murder of Gabriel, in a public TTC station, profoundly shocked out community. Those who ride the TTC to get to work, meet with friends and attend other events may be left to wonder, ‘Am I next?’”
A forensic psychiatrist diagnosed him with “very serious” personality disorders and found “he’s probably psychopathic” but has no major mental illness and knew what he did was wrong, Kelly said.
“Mr. O’Brien-Tobin’s conduct was randomly directed at a defenceless teenager with whom he had no personal contact, let alone a quarrel. It was a self-centred act of violence. Had Gabriel not been there that day, somebody else’s son, brother, nephew, grandson or friend could have been the victim of Mr. O’Brien-Tobin’s senseless crime.”