Former CBC producer Michael Finlay, in an undated photo.Karin Wells/CBC
Toronto police have arrested a man who was wanted for manslaughter in connection with the death of former CBC radio producer Michael Finlay.
Robin Robert Cropearedwolf, 43, turned himself in Tuesday, police said, more than three weeks after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
A statement from the force said Mr. Cropearedwolf surrendered at 52 Division in downtown Toronto.
His name was listed Tuesday on the docket of suspects scheduled to make initial court appearances at the Old City Hall courthouse.
Toronto police announced earlier this month that Mr. Cropearedwolf was being sought as the suspect in the random assault on Mr. Finlay.
Mr. Finlay, 73, sustained serious internal injuries in the attack while he was out grocery shopping on the afternoon of Jan. 24. He died of his injuries on Jan. 31.
Before he died, he told friends and family there was no provocation for the attack. He said he had just exchanged a glance with a man walking in the opposite direction before that man grabbed him and threw him toward a concrete planter.
His former colleagues described him as a skilled CBC radio journalist who spent decades at the public broadcaster and retired in 2010 after working on such shows as Sunday Morning, Dispatches and The World at Six.
A series of random and violent attacks in Canada’s largest city have put officials under pressure to address the root causes of crime, with calls for action on everything from more mental-health supports to crackdowns on repeat offenders.
On Dec. 9, 2022, Vanessa Kurpiewska, 31, was killed at the High Park subway station in a stabbing attack. A second woman was injured. A 52-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
On Jan. 20, an 89-year-old woman was killed at about noon while walking near the subway station at King and Yonge streets. Police said she was pushed to the ground by a 37-year-old man, who is now facing manslaughter charges.
There have also been a series of non-fatal assaults over the past month, including one involving a 23-year-old foreign student who was stabbed multiple times aboard the Spadina Avenue streetcar by an assailant she did not know.
Colin Freeze