Police have announced they have charged three men with the beating death of a man in the Don Jail on the weekend.

However, the mother of  the victim is wondering why her mentally ill son was in the facility rather than getting treatment.

"I expected to hear something totally different than him being murdered in jail," Christine told CTV Toronto on Monday in an interview conducted before news of the arrests broke.

"Lot's of times we said in the past that when Jeff is in jail, 'Thank God because he's safe and he's off the streets.' But he wasn't safe."

Jeff Munro was 32 years old, homeless and a drug addict suffering from psychosis. He was well-known to the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health at Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue.

"He should have been in the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health, not jail," Christine said.

Court documents show that he pleaded guilty in mental health court last Monday to assaulting a police officer. That stemmed from an Oct. 30 incident on Yonge Street in which Jeff knocked a female police officer's hat off and then spat towards her.

He got a suspended sentence with 12 months probation. Then, on Nov. 3, he was arrested on allegations he breached his probation order.

The authorities remanded Jeff in custody, holding him in the Don Valley Jail. It isn't clear if he waived his right to a bail hearing as there is no lawyer for him listed in the court paperwork.

Sometime before 8 p.m. on Saturday evening, someone in the jail beat Munro to death. A police news release issued Monday used the phrase "blunt impact facial trauma."

"Why? I want to know why. I want some answers," Christine said.

They say Jeff was not a violent person and wasn't accused of a violent crime, and yet he was placed in the Don's mental health wing.

In a news release issued early Monday evening, police say three men are facing first-degree murder charges:

  • Troy Victor Campbell, 24
  • Osman Sarikay, 22
  • Kevin Andre Veiro, 21

All three men are Toronto residents. They have court appearances scheduled for Tuesday.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby