A 23 year-old man is facing a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of a pedestrian who was allegedly assaulted and then run over by a vehicle in 2009.
Det.-Sgt. Stacy Gallant said Thursday morning that police have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of Christopher Skinner.
Skinner was 27 when he died after being struck and killed in the early hours of Oct. 18, 2009 near Adelaide and Victoria Streets in downtown Toronto.
Gallant told reporters that a suspect was arrested on Wednesday. He is a resident of Etobicoke and was 19 years-old at the time of the incident.
The suspect is not known to police and was driving the vehicle the night Skinner died, Gallant said.
Police say Skinner was attempting to hail a cab when he may have inadvertently come into contact with a passing vehicle.
It is alleged that Skinner was confronted by some of the occupants of a black SUV, assaulted and kicked to the ground.
The occupants then returned to the SUV, which then proceeded to drive over Skinner before leaving the scene.
Gallant said there were six people who were in the SUV at the time. He said he was "disappointed" that despite numerous pleas from the police, the other occupants of the vehicle did not come forward to aid with the investigation.
"They instead kept this information to themselves and lived with it for the past four years," he said, adding that the vehicle has been seized and officers are expecting to make more arrests.
He called the break in the four-year-old investigation "bittersweet."
"It's now a new start to a new phase in this investigation for myself and for this family," Gallant said.
Skinner's mother, Ellen, also addressed the media Thursday morning, telling reporters that while she is relieved to hear of an arrest, the news doesn't "bring Christopher back."
"Christopher was a bigger than life personality, and it was a star that was extinguished," she said.
She said she doesn't believe she'll get closure over losing her son, but instead must look ahead to what comes next.
“You can’t just dust your hands off and say, ‘There, that’s done,’” she said. “Because it’s not done. We’re going into the next phase. It’s a book and we’ve finished chapter one.”
The arrest followed a fresh plea from investigators three weeks ago, when they released new details from their investigation, including a new image of the SUV.
Police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible for Skinner's death. As well, Skinner's family offered an additional $100,000 reward.
Gallant said the reward money has not been claimed and that it was police investigative work that helped lead to the arrest.
Agustin Caruso is facing a charge of second-degree murder. After a brief court appearance Thursday, he is due back in court next month.
With files from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
