Family, friends gather to mourn stabbing victim
Côte-des-Neiges killing under investigation
One of the first things to greet visitors to the Manikarajah family’s tiny apartment are two graduation photos, proudly and prominently displayed high on the wall above the kitchen table.
There’s eldest daughter Thivyapriya Jeyarasan in her black high school graduation gown, mortar board atop her charcoal-coloured hair, a warm smile crossing her face as she clutches the rolled-up diploma in her hand.
There’s the second child and first son, Abisath Manikarajah, wearing a navy gown, his handsome face beaming at the camera as he holds his Grade 6 diploma.
Both children, now 18 and 12, respectively, as well as their 10-yearold sister, sat stunned in their Côtedes-Neiges apartment Tuesday, as a steady stream of neighbours, friends and relatives — many in flowing saris — tried to comfort them and at the same time, grasp the sudden tragedy. The patriarch of the family, Jeyarasan Manikarajah, 40, who had sought refuge in Canada in 1996 from Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war, had been fatally stabbed Monday night in the alley between two apartment buildings on Mountain Sights Ave. near Paré St. His assailant allegedly was a neighbour and someone from the same Tamil village in Sri Lanka, but with no apparent reason to kill.
“My mom saw it from our balcony,” Thivyapriya said Tuesday, as she sat on the living room couch, holding her wailing mother, Kamalambikai Jeyarasan, 35, in her arms. “My dad was entering our building and (the suspect) came and wanted to talk to him.”
The suspect, an acquaintance from two buildings away, placed his arm over Manikarajah’s shoulder and led him to the alley, she said. A few minutes later, witnesses said, the friend sat on the steps of his own apartment building, his hands covered in blood and casually said, “I just stabbed him. He’s in the driveway, go get him.”
Kamalambikai Jeyarasan then descended one flight of stairs from her apartment and ran in the direction of where the two men had gone. There she found her husband be- hind a garbage can, lying in a pool of blood, her daughter said.
Someone called 911, and despite paramedics’ attempts at trying to revive the victim, witnesses said he appeared to be dead. Police say the man was rushed to hospital where he died early Tuesday.
Veerasuthan Santhamoorthy drove in from Dollard-des-Ormeaux after he heard his friend had been stabbed at about 9:15 p.m. Monday. He said the suspect is married and has a 5-year-old child.
Everyone The Gazette spoke to Tuesday said they were at a loss to explain why anyone would want to kill Manikarajah, who had brought his wife and then 4-year-old daughter to Canada in 2000.
“He was a really friendly man, always smiling, never troubling anybody,” said 18-year-old Thivyapriya, now studying at Vanier College and hoping one day to become a teacher. “Everybody says positive things about him.”
The pile of shoes outside the apartment door grew throughout the day Tuesday as more people arrived to comfort the grieving widow and her children. Some had driven through the night from Toronto.
They sat quietly on couches or folding chairs lining the living room wall, which was adorned with several family photos from weddings and other occasions.
One little boy, seemingly oblivious to the sadness engulfing the room, was mesmerized by a half dozen goldfish swimming in a brightly lit aquarium.
The 34-year-old suspect will appear in court Wednesday afternoon, where he will face charges of firstdegree murder.
It is the city’s 13th homicide of the year. There had been 12 homicides on the island of Montreal at this time last year.