In a soft voice, a Toronto senior spoke for the first time about the 2014 killing of a 65-year-old woman.

“I killed Ms. Liu,” he said through an interpreter almost in a whisper. “I felt sorry for her family. I am really sorry and sorry to her family.”

“I tell you, Judge, I very much regret doing that.”

Shou Quan Chen said he feels remorse when thinking about his actions on October 15, 2014.

On that day, Xian Liu was walking in a park beside the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre at Dupont and Dufferin streets when she was approached by a man. The pair stopped and chatted for about eight minutes. At the end of the conversation, the man went to a bicycle, picked up a metal bar and began viciously striking Liu several times.

Responding paramedics pronounced the 65-year-old woman dead at the scene.

The next day, Chen was charged in connection with the Liu’s murder.

In early April 2019, jurors convicted the 75-year-old man of second-degree murder. In the following weeks, they participated in a hearing on Chen’s mental state at the time of the incident. However, despite the defence attorney’s attempts to prove Chen not criminally responsible due to mental health issues, he was once again convicted of second-degree murder on May 8.

At his sentencing hearing on Monday, several victim impact statements were read out and pictures from Liu’s grandchildren were submitted.

“Mom, scenes of what happened frequently appear in my mind,” Liu’s son, Wan Peng Mei, said. “These thoughts are impossible to forget. I am about to fall apart emotionally and I am depressed.”

“In the past four and a half years after your murder I wept so much that my tears are dry.”

Mei said he believes the Canadian judicial system will handle the case fairly.

“The evil will receive its judgement,” he said.

Liu’s niece, Elaine Mei, read a victim impact statement aloud as well saying, “As a family we constantly question why this happened to our aunt. We want to know why this happened.”

“If Mr. Chen was so ill why did the family not take steps to help him and to prevent this from happening? We are from the same cultural background and we do not feel like mental health so taboo that families are unable to speak about it and get help.”

Crown attorneys in this case are asking for a 12-year period of parole ineligibility, arguing that the defence had not been able to establish that Chen’s mental health was the underlying cause for the attack.

“I cannot, your honour, stand here and conclusively tell you but (if not) for Mr. Chen’s mental illness this would not have happened,” said prosecutor Monica Gharabaway.

Chen’s defence attorneys, however, are asking for 10 years.

“There were at least three blows from the steel bar, a very serious and a savage...horrible assault,” said defence attorney Greg Leslie. “We don’t know what was in his mind at the time, but in my respectful submission, mental health was the cause of what happened.”

Chen’s sentencing is expected to take place on Thursday morning.