Family members expressed relief after a Toronto man who shot and killed two strangers in April 2022 was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Richard Edwin, 43, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 21-year-old Kartik Vasudev and 35-year-old Elijah Eleazar Mahepath by an Ontario Superior Court judge Monday. He was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Jitesh Vasudev, Kartik Vasudev’s father, said the judge’s ruling was “what we were fighting for.”

“What we wanted to hear, we have heard from the judge today,” Vasudev said outside the courtroom Tuesday.

“It is a big relief for us right now,” he said.

Vasudev’s victim impact statement described his son Kartik as someone who was “sincere and hardworking in his studies” and admired by teachers for his “respectful and kind behaviour.”

“He was not only our son but the heart of our family,” his statement said.

In her victim impact statement, Pooja Vasudev, Kartik’s mother, said her son’s loss sits with her every day.

“The pain of the bullets that struck my son is still felt by his mother, father and brother,” her statement said.

Also speaking outside the courtroom following the sentencing, Monica Gonsalves Mahepath, Elijah’s adoptive mother and relative, described him as “a very, very, very nice person” who “wanted to do so much for the world.”

Victim impact statements from other members of Mahepath’s family described him as a “jovial” and “kind” soul.

“It’s been four years since Elijah was taken from us,” Gonsalves Mahepath’s victim impact statement said.

“I think about him continuously. Every day.”

Murders were ‘planned and deliberate’: judge

Edwin shot and killed Vasudev outside of Sherbourne subway station on April 7, 2022. He shot and killed Mahepath two days later near the intersection of Dundas Street and Sherbourne Street.

He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was seeking a not-criminally-responsible defence due to a mental disorder, which was rejected by Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly in a judge-only trial.

“I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the murders of Mr. Vasudev and Mr. Mahepath were planned and deliberate,” her decision said.

“His conduct appeared rational, methodical, and organized.”

At the hearing Edwin addressed the families that were present and apologized.

“It was my fault due to mental illness … I’m sorry for it,” he said, adding that he wants forgiveness.