Teary-eyed, desperate, and holding one another, the mothers of two young men tragically shot while sitting in their SUV spoke to the public Sunday, reaching out for information that could help investigators find a suspect in the deaths.
Oliver Martin's mother spoke first, offering a personal account of her son's character, speaking forcefully about the need to come forward.
"Oliver loved Toronto. It was his city. He loved people. His favourite saying was, 'never look down on anyone unless you're helping them up.' He felt happy, alive, and safe. He was shot in the heart," her wavering voice made out.
"I know there are people out there with information. They must come forward. We need to take back the good."
Dylan Ellis' mother was more visibly shaken.
"Please, please come forward, call Crime Stoppers, call any police station, get in touch with the investigating officers, just get the information to those who will be able to help us use it to help solve the crime," she pleaded.
"Just help us."
Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin were seated in an SUV near Niagara and Richmond Sts. on June 13th.
They were in front of a friend's condo, a location they'd returned to after watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals there earlier that night.
Details remain foggy, but it was then a suspect approached and opened fire on the pair, as a witness sat apparently unseen and terrified in the back seat.
She wasn't harmed, but the two 25-year-olds received fatal wounds and died at the scene. Their tear-filled funerals were held last Wednesday and Thursday.
Without question it was anything but easy for Karen Ellis and Susan Martin to make their statements at Police Headquarters Sunday afternoon, with the pain of their loss still so fresh.
But cops think it's vital they tell the killer what his actions have done to their families and hope it will spur someone who knows what happened that night to come forward.
Police believe the man responsible fled the scene on a mountain bike, and have only a limited description.
He's described as:
- Male,
- Black,
- Light complexion,
- Light coloured shirt,
- Dark coloured pants.
At first, police believed an aborted carjacking might be behind the senseless slayings. But they're also pondering whether the victims' well-to-do status may have simply rubbed someone the wrong way, resulting in an unthinkable act of needless revenge.