MANDEL: Rare life sentence for mentally ill man guilty of manslaughter in Toronto DJ's beating death

In a bold move that prioritizes the safety of the public for a change, a mentally ill killer has been sentenced to a rare life sentence for manslaughter.

Rico Harvey’s lawyer had asked for time served.

But Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein even went above the 16- to 20-year term that prosecutors had requested for Harvey, who was convicted in 2024 of manslaughter by a jury in the senseless and vicious May 2020 beating death of popular Gay Village DJ Peter Elie.

“Nothing less than a life sentence will protect the public,” the judge said Tuesday.

Charged with first-degree murder

Harvey was charged with first-degree murder after Elie’s battered body was discovered in the laundry room of his Balliol St. apartment building. The homeless man admitted killing the 52-year-old but testified Elie provoked him by calling him the n-word and threatening to call the police to shoot him — claims Goldstein firmly rejected.

“Mr. Harvey administered a beating to Mr. Elie that was lengthy, shocking, brutal and deadly,” he said. “His anger was not justified in any way. There was no provocation. Mr. Harvey did not just beat Mr. Elie, he tried to degrade him.”

Harvey battled mental illness for years, court heard

Court heard Harvey, 33, has battled mental illness since he was 20 and was repeatedly taken to hospital by his long-suffering mother or the police when he went off his medication and turned aggressive and violent. He was variably diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, anti-social personality disorder and adjustment disorder.

The homeless man, wearing an open jacket with no shirt, had slipped into 155 Balliol and was seen rifling through mail and laundry and pressing all the buttons in the elevators.

It was May 13, 2020,  just before midnight, when Elie was attacked, likely after confronting Harvey about trespassing and stealing some of his laundry. Captured on security video, Harvey sucker-punched the unsuspecting tenant in the head from behind, sending him to the floor and then proceeded to punch him at least six times, kick him four times and then stomp on his body. He emptied Elie’s laundry basket on him and then stomped on him again. He then dragged him into the bathroom to “humiliate him,” Harvey testified.

Five minutes later, the cameras captured Harvey now punching Elie outside the laundry room and then striking him with a fire extinguisher. He turned off the lights and continued to attack him as Elie lay helpless on the floor, emptied garbage on him and then hit him several times with the metal can.

Died of blunt-force trauma

An autopsy concluded that poor man died from blunt-force trauma to his head and neck.

Known professionally as “Blue Peter” in his DJ work at Woody’s and other venues in the village, Elie was remembered as kind, gentle and loving. “DJ Blue Peter was the heart and soul of many of our gathering spaces for over 20 years, where he shared his passion for music and bringing our communities together,” the 519 Church Street Community Centre wrote on social media at the time.

“I find that this was a manslaughter that is as close to a murder as it is possible for a manslaughter to be. The killing of Mr. Ellie was brutal, shocking, protracted, intensely violent and unprovoked. I also find that Mr. Harvey is a dangerous man. He will suffer from mental illness for the rest of his life, as Dr. Chatterjee testified, he cannot be cured,” Goldstein said.

‘High risk’ to reoffend: Psychiatrist

Forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee, concluded in her court-ordered assessment that Harvey poses a “high risk” to reoffend violently unless he’s in a structured and supervised setting that ensures he takes his medication and abstains from cannabis.

“He has never willingly abstained from illegal drugs, nor taken his prescribed medications for long periods of time except under very strict controls and supervision. Mr. Harvey will remain ill and he will remain at risk of discontinuing his medication and taking up self-medication. When he does that he is a danger to himself and others.”

The judge noted that after the fatal beating, Harvey also set the garbage on fire in the laundry room which put all the residents of the building at risk.

“The protection of the public requires that Mr. Harvey never be in a position where he’s unsupervised,” Goldstein concluded. “Lives may literally depend it.”

mmandel@postmedia.com