Toronto police say woman severely hurt in 2018 van attack has died of her injuries

TORONTO – Police say a woman who was severely hurt in the 2018 Toronto van attack has died of her injuries in hospital.

Toronto police say in a release that Amaresh Tesfamariam, who was 65, died on Oct. 28.

She had been in hospital since April 23, 2018, after Alek Minassian drove a rental van down the sidewalk of Yonge Street killing 10 people and injuring another 16.

Minassian was convicted in March of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder but has not been sentenced.

Toronto police say Tesfamariam’s death is now considered a homicide but Minassian will not face another murder charge.

Const. David Hopkinson, a police spokesman, said the charge can’t be upgraded to first-degree murder because too much time has elapsed since she was injured.

“It is my understanding that a new charge will not be laid,” Hopkinson said. “But the judge will consider that there is a new victim in sentencing.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2021

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. Police updated the spelling of the woman’s last name that was incorrect in the news release.