The parents of a 27-year-old Toronto man slain a week ago have a message for those involved in their son's death: come forward and show yourself.
Christopher Skinner was beaten and then rundown by an SUV in the city's downtown last Sunday after attending his sister's birthday party at a nearby club, police say.
In an interview with CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney on Sunday, the man's grieving parents made a plea for justice.
"We want the driver," said father Warren Skinner. "I think everyone wants the driver."
Police allege anywhere between one and four suspects got out of the SUV to check for damage when Skinner walked up to them and they beat him. They say that while Skinner was lying on the ground, a driver got back inside the SUV and ran the young man over.
The black vehicle was last seen heading eastbound on Adelaide. Skinner died in hospital of his injuries.
Skinner's family is also asking passengers in the SUV to come forward.
"Go and see a lawyer, and the lawyer can go to the police with your story," Warren Skinner said.
Warren's wife Ellen said that while she will never get her son back, justice needs to be served.
"You talk about the driver, he means nothing to me -- he's not even human. A human has a heart and a soul and knows the difference between right and wrong," she said.
Meanwhile, friends will be holding a candlelight vigil Sunday evening to remember the young man.
Group organizers say they will march from Church and Wellesley Streets to Adelaide and Victoria Streets, where Skinner was murdered while walking alone after his sister's birthday party in the early hours of Oct. 18.
Almost 800 people have registered for the vigil on Facebook.
"We will hold our candles high, with eyes pointed towards the sky to let Chris know that he is not there alone," organizers wrote on the social networking site.
Police released security video Saturday of Skinner trying to hail a taxi in the final moments of his life.
They suggest the 27-year-old may have been murdered after touching a passing SUV with his hand.
The surveillance clips show Skinner, with his back to the camera, standing on a sidewalk trying to hail a cab around 3 a.m. A few minutes later, he walks out of view, and police say that is when the confrontation with the suspects began.
Police are looking for a man driving the SUV who is described as male, with light skin, and wearing a black tank top and a short, military-style haircut.
Skinner was gay, and although police say they do not believe Skinner's murder was a hate crime, members of the Facebook group say they believe he may have been targeted due to his sexuality.
"With this public showing of emotion, we hope to make known that hatred must no longer prevail, that in the dark, we will march in numbers, with candles lit in the memory of Christopher," organizers wrote.
