Toronto Man Sentenced to Life for Fatally Stabbing His Mother

Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru sentenced Colin Hatcher to life in prison with no chance of parole for 11 years for fatally stabbing his mother, Kathleen Boyle Hatcher, 69, in an Etobicoke park.

On February 26, 2021, Hatcher stabbed his mother several times with a sharp instrument while they walked in a wooded area of King's Mill Park near the TTC's Old Mill station. His mother called 911 while lying in a pool of blood but died before paramedics arrived.

In April, Nakatsuru found Hatcher guilty of second-degree murder. The judge determined Hatcher was paranoid and delusional at the time but still able to appreciate that what he did was morally wrong and therefore criminally responsible.

Court heard that Hatcher has schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication before the attack. In sentencing, Nakatsuru said the severe mental illness was a mitigating factor, but punishment and deterrence were needed. "Although you did not meet the test for not criminally responsible due to mental disorder...your serious mental illness played a very big role in this crime," the judge wrote.

Hatcher had previously threatened family members and been hospitalized involuntarily. He told psychiatrists he heard an overwhelming voice telling him to stab his mother and felt he had no choice. A friend of his mother's, Bridget Lynch, noted in a statement read in court: "Justice is not about sentencing and blaming a victim...It is about recognizing what went wrong in our systems of caring and treatment and protection." Nakatsuru said Hatcher has a chance to redeem himself, but "the path to that is long."