New video shows the moments before an armed swordsman attacked his boss at a Toronto bakery
New video has emerged showing the moments before a Toronto man attacked his boss using two samurai swords at a North York bakery – an incident the man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for.
Eden Gidharry was sentenced for slashing the manager, Steven Brain, with the swords and cutting his laptop in half, after claiming that Brain had put a spell on him and was “in his head all night.”
Gidharry pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, but Justice Jane Kelly rejected that and found him guilty of the more serious charge of attempted murder, pointing to threatening statements he made and the “terrifying” nature of the attack.
“Mr. Brain was on the other side of the computer at the time. It would have been terrifying,” Justice Kelly wrote in the judgment.
In the video, obtained by CTV News from the Toronto Superior Court, Gidharry can be seen walking towards the company’s headquarters on Jethro Road on a rainy day in March 2020.
As he approaches, it’s clear he is armed with samurai swords. The video shows he is stopped briefly at a gate before cutting through the mechanism with one of the swords, and then raising them on both sides and walking steadily forward into the facility.
An alarm sounds and employees start to leave the building in a panic. Another video shows Gidharry stalking through the factory floor on his way to meet Brain.
“Using the swords, Mr. Gidharry slashed Mr. Brain, causing significant injuries to the area of his right underarm and his right leg. Mr. Gidharry also swung the sword causing the laptop screen of Mr. Brain’s computer to be split in two,” Justice Kelly wrote.
When police arrived, he put the swords down. In a statement to police, “Mr. Gidharry said, amongst other things, that he had to kill Mr. Brain due to a “spell/curse” and that this suggestion had come to him while he was meditating,” the justice wrote.
The court heard that in the days before the attack, Gidharry attended his manager’s office, distraught, angry and unsettled. He believed other employees were asking about his personal life. The meetings appeared to resolve the problem, but Gidharry returned.
Gidharry refused to answer questions to diagnose a possible mental illness, but an assessment concluded there was no basis for finding him not criminally responsible.
He apologized in court, saying, “It was never my intent to cause the family any grief or harm to Mr. Brain… it was just a bad time for me. For what it’s worth, I am sorry for it.”
Following the attack, Brain said he could not work at the company anymore, with the court hearing in victim impact statements that the attack had forever changed him and his family.
“Every morning I wake up with these scars on my body and mind. This is not who I was before Mar. 20, 2020. That person is gone forever,” Brain said in his victim impact statement.
A spokesperson for the bakery said the company was trying to move forward after the attack.
Gidharry, 38, is a permanent resident with no criminal record and no history of drug abuse, the judge said.
After the 17-year sentence he is likely to be deported, she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.