‘I thought it was my landlord’: Toronto man who pushed a man to his death in front of subway

The incident occurred in June of 2018 on the Bloor line platform of the Bloor/Yonge station in the heart of downtown Toronto, where 55-year-old John Reszetnik pushed 73-year-old Yosuke Hayahara in front of an eastbound train.

According to Global News, Reszetnick, thinking that Hayahara was his landlord in a case of mistaken identity, ran up behind Hayahara as he got up to board a train and pushed him in front of the subway train, which had no time to brake at that point.

Reszetnik didn't immediately flee the scene, but rather stuck around to watch emergency personnel arrive and try to save Hayahara. He then left, but tried to go back but was prohibited because authorities had locked the station down.

Approximately half an hour later, he approached a firefighter and told him "I am the one that pushed him. Mental illness"

"Why did you push him?" asked the first responder. "I thought it was my landlord, he evicted me," replied Reszetnik. The firefighter immediately called the police, and Reszetnik was arrested.

His statement at the time read:

"No, I murdered him. I freaked out and pushed him on the subway. I don’t know why they didn’t arrest me on the platform. It’s got to be on video. I freaked out. I imagined my landlord, who – he’s evicting me, and I can’t find a place and I’ll be homeless … I really did it. It’s no joke, I killed him for God’s sakes."

By law, and since being convicted, Reszetnik will have to serve a life sentence minimum of 10 years without chance of parole.