Toronto man pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of CBC journalist

Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, 45, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death former CBC journalist Douglas Michael Finlay on May 9, 2024.

A Toronto man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a former CBC producer who was shoved to the ground while walking in Toronto’s east end last year.

Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, 45, entered the plea in a Toronto courtroom on Thursday in connection with the death of Douglas Michael Finlay, 73, on Jan. 24, 2023.

Finlay, a former radio producer, was walking on Danforth Avenue, near Jones Avenue, in the middle of the afternoon when he was allegedly shoved to the ground and seriously injured. Toronto police described the attack as “random” at the time.

A week later, on Jan. 31, he died after his health deteriorated as a result of the injuries he sustained.

"Michael will be remembered as an exceptional story-teller, documentary-maker and editor,” CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson said in a statement after he died. Finlay spent 31 years with the public broadcaster before retiring in 2010.

“He travelled the world producing radio documentaries for several programs but most notably for Sunday Morning. If you worked on a documentary with Michael, you were experiencing the pinnacle of the craft."

Finlay, a former CBC radio producer, was walking in Toronto's east end when he was allegedly shoved to the ground and seriously injured on Jan 24, 2023. A month later, Cropearedwolf turned himself into authorities after police issued a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.

Police have previously said that Finlay and Cropearedwolf were not known to one another.