Adrian Makurat told a Toronto court Tuesday his two young daughters, now 10 and 7, still struggle with the loss of their mother, killed nearly three years ago by a stray bullet.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Makurat described conversations with his girls shifting from cartoons to fears of gun violence. A video montage of the family, with the children's voices recounting their grief, left the courtroom in tears.
Caroline Huebner-Makurat was shot dead on July 7, 2023, while walking to lunch in Toronto's Leslieville neighborhood. Damian Hudson was convicted of second-degree murder for firing the fatal shot during a gunfight with a rival drug dealer. Ahmed Ali, the alleged rival, fled to Somalia and remains wanted.
Makurat has since moved the family to a small community in British Columbia, seeking peace, but says the tragedy follows him in every new conversation.
Thirty other impact statements were read, reflecting a community shaken by the violence. Hudson faces an automatic life sentence; the parole ineligibility period is yet to be determined.