‘We are broken’: Family, friends in shock after woman killed in workplace stabbing
A decade after moving from her hometown of London, Ont., to Toronto to work, Julia Ferguson excelled in the beauty industry but wanted a career change.
A couple of years ago she landed a job as a receptionist at Hicks Adams LLP, one of Toronto’s largest and bestknown criminal defence firms, with a roster of more than a dozen lawyers.
“She always had an interest in law and got into this profession to see how she’d like it, and she flourished,” her older
brother, Chris Ferguson, said Monday. “She took on all kinds of different roles because they saw she was capable.”
On Friday afternoon, just before 2 p.m., a man walked into the firm’s storefront office at 238 King St. E., east of Sherbourne Street, and stabbed the young woman in the chest. She was rushed to nearby St. Michael’s Hospital, where doctors were at first cautiously optimistic.
However, she succumbed to her injuries on Sunday. She was 29.
Osman Osman, 33, was arrested by police a short time later after surrendering himself at 51 Division. His original attempted murder charge will be upgraded to second-degree murder, Toronto police said. He will appear in court Wednesday.
“The business, the law office, was targeted, but I can’t get into anything more specific than that, whether she was specifically targeted or anyone else,” homicide detective Sgt. Tiffany Castell said Monday.
She declined to say how the incident unfolded, nor would she confirm whether the man was represented by any of the firm’s lawyers.
News that an employee of a law firm had been fatally stabbed at work sent shock waves though Toronto’s legal community.
“We are broken. Jules was the most beautiful light and soul,” defence lawyer Jessica Zita wrote on Twitter. “I was fortunate enough to call her a close friend. This world is not worthy. I type still in disbelief and shock.” Zita encouraged others to contribute to a GoFundMe page.
“An absolute tragedy that has rocked the criminal defence community to its core,” commented defence lawyer Alison Craig on Twitter. Wrote another defender, Neha Chugh, who is based in eastern Ontario: “There is a war on criminal defence lawyers in Canada. As I watch my defence colleagues leave one by one for Crown, clinic, and government jobs, I acknowledge the good and often thankless work we do every day … Stay safe friends.”
GoFundMe page organizer Lisa S., who declined to give her last name, said she was too distraught to be interviewed about her friend. In her introduction to the fundraising web page, she wrote that Julia was “young, beautiful, vivacious and full of life. Julia was also a cherished part of the team at Hicks Adams LLP.
“Not only did she run the front desk with kindness and compassion, but she offered her insight and ideas to improve the firm. Her presence at the front of the office brightened everyone’s days. The entire firm is devastated by her tragic loss.”
Hundreds of donations doubled the $25,000 goal Monday.
Law firm founder and partner Christopher Hicks could not be reached for comment Monday.
Eleven years older, Chris Ferguson helped raise his sister while their father battled and died of cancer and their mom worked the late shift at Canada Post. Julia had asthma as a child and Chris sometimes had to decide whether to take her to the hospital. “That helped us bond so that age difference didn’t play a part,” he said.
“Jules” grew into a kind and caring young woman who had a “calming energy” about her. “Everybody felt that. If you were around her, it felt right. You walk in the room and saw Jules, you felt OK.”
She had a wide circle of friends and leaves behind a loving and devoted boyfriend of seven years, Jesse Solomon, who is devastated, Ferguson said. “They were a special pair. They just fit very well together. It’s cliché to say but it’s what we all want. They were the perfect couple.”
Ferguson described his sister as a “phenomenal aunt” to his 15-year-old son, Scot, who is “taking it tough.”
His sister had signed up to be an organ donor, so “she’s going to be Julia and she’s going to live her life by giving other people life … that’s her.”
On the cusp of turning 30 next year, Julia was contemplating another career change before her life was taken away.
“She’s a big dog lover — so am I — so we said wouldn’t it be great if we could open up a dog rescue or dog sanctuary sometime in the future.”
A service will be held in London, Ont., where their mother lives.