The Class of 2001 at Homicide High was one for the books, and we are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Picking a valedictorian was no simple matter. Suspected serial killer Peter Dale MacDonald was a good bet, as was Cosmo Joseph Jacobson, who murdered a government witness.
The Toronto Sun dug into our files to check up on these chilling classmates. In the intervening years, some have been taken off the board, died in prison, been sprung, are in an asylum, or remain behind bars 25 years later. At least two accused killers remain on the run. Our report is meant to be a snapshot of murder in 2001. Our subjects were either convicted of first-degree murder in 2001 or charged with the gravest offence in the criminal code.
The Serial Killer
Peter Dale MacDonald, now 68, is a suspected serial killer who was arrested in 2001 for the murders of three Parkdale prostitutes. Those charges were dropped, but the PEI native was arrested, charged, and convicted of second-degree murder in the strangulation killing of James Campbell, 63, in 2000. He was also convicted of manslaughter in the Windsor murder of Michelle Charette also in 2000. STATUS: Still in prison.
Double Killer
Grigorios (Greg) Laberakis, now 65, was charged on Oct. 9, 2001, with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his neighbour Jerry Soriano and his friend Dante Lozano. Judged not criminally responsible. But wait! In 2019, Laberakis injured two cops in Nova Scotia. And in 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered that the killer be granted an absolute discharge. QUOTE: “(There is) no factual basis to support a finding that (he) poses significant threat to the community.” STATUS: Unknown.
Rinse Repeat
Imo Lewis, now 43, knows well the inside of a prison. He celebrated his 18th birthday behind bars for the April 20, 1999, shotgun slaying of Wayne Brown, a father of four. First-degree murder was reduced to manslaughter, the sentence a pittance. But wait! In 2007, our hero was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder for a double shooting at the D Martini Lounge in Mississauga in 2005. While serving his life sentence at Millhaven, Lewis was charged with first-degree murder on inmate Dakota Ryder. But he was found not guilty. STATUS: Still in prison.
Seething Hatred
Marcello Palma was found guilty of first-degree murder in the rage slayings of three Toronto sex workers in a two-hour period over the 1996 Victoria Day weekend. He called them “scum” and executed each with a bullet in the head fired from a .357 Magnum. He was convicted in 2001, sentenced to 25 years, no parole. STATUS: He is back baby! Full parole, December 2023.
Business Beef
William Kevin Curran, 55, took umbrage when fellow crook James Myers, 51, tried to make off with more than his share in a $700,000 stolen jewelry heist. So he shot him to death on Nov. 23, 1998, at his Meadowvale Dr. home. Tried and convicted in 2001. STATUS: Died in prison 2020.
Evil Stepdaughter
Elizabeth Margaret Gatenby orchestrated the Nov. 27, 2001, beating death of her mother's estranged husband, Bruce Firman, 72, in St. Catharines. She blackmailed her own teen son into coordinating the murder. Motive? M.O.N.E.Y. He had moved on and their divorce was bitterly contested. Thinking mom would inherit the dough, son finked on Gatenby. STATUS: In 2021, her “faint hope” bid was torpedoed. Still in slammer.
The Child Killer
Muhammad Arsal Khan, now 62, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the barbaric December 1999 torture and dismemberment murder of his five-year-old daughter, Farah. His then-wife, Kaneez Fatima, now 71, was also charged in the brutal abuse. Farah's body parts were dumped in Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke. STATUS: She was released on day parole. He remains in prison.
Cosmo's Factory
Cosmo Joseph Jacobson, now 51, was a security guard who killed Roy Dennis Jones, who was slated to testify against him in a home invasion case. Cosmo did not like this, so he shot Jones to death outside his Ajax home and went down for the execution-style killing. He was, uh, on bail at the time of the murder. STATUS: He is out and everything is beautiful, baby. Parole panel said, “no worries.” Why, our activist judges even invited him to speak at a judicial conference last fall. QUOTE: “Cosmo Jacobson is a convicted, ruthless murderer who extinguished the light of a brave soul.” — JUSTICE BARBARA GREEN
Degenerate Gambler
Timothy Culham, 27, was a gambling addict who killed eccentric antiques collector Hugh Sinclair, 72, who vanished from his 42nd-floor apartment in Toronto's Manulife Centre in mid-July 1999. His apartment had been ransacked. Cops zeroed in on his buddy, who needed the dough to pay off his debts to nefarious mobsters. His plan was to kill Sinclair, sell his antiques, and save himself. He went down for first-degree murder in 2001. ADDENDUM: First time in Canada a killer has been convicted of first-degree murder without a body. Sinclair's corpse was found in 2003. STATUS: Believed to be still in prison.
Hated Asian Women
Stuart McKellar Cameron, now 58, terrorized North York between 1999 and 2000, targeting women in their homes. Married with three children and no prior record, Cameron later admitted he had a deep-seated hatred for Asian women. He sexually assaulted four women. On July 27, 2000, Cameron broke into 18-year-old Taiwanese student Tina Wu's apartment and murdered her. He also viciously attacked her 14-year-old sister, Theresa Wu. Cameron pleaded down to second-degree murder. STATUS: As of late 2025, he remained incarcerated. A sojourn to the healing lodge was torpedoed.
Killed Lover
Najib Anwar stabbed his former lover Fatima Hasan more than 30 times in August 2001 when things fell apart. Sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years. STATUS: Died at the old Kingston Penitentiary in 2004 of natural causes.
