A Toronto drug dealer took the stand in his own defence this week, offering a hushed and emotionless account of how a violent confrontation outside a safe injection site ended with an innocent mother dead from a stray bullet.
The Fatal Afternoon in Riverdale
Damian Hudson, 34, is on trial for second-degree murder in the death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat, 44. The tragedy unfolded on July 7, 2023, outside the South Riverdale Community Health Centre. Hudson admits firing the shot that killed Huebner-Makurat as she crossed Queen Street East to meet a friend for lunch, but he has pleaded not guilty.
Testifying in a soft, monotone voice that was often difficult to hear, Hudson described being ambushed by two other drug dealers. He identified them as "the man in grey," known to be Ahmed Ibrahim, and "the man in black," alleged to be Ahmed Ali. Hudson claimed the pair jumped him, pistol-whipped him, and stole a satchel containing $1,500 in cash and $3,200 worth of cocaine he was holding for his supplier.
A Claim of Fear and a Fatal Shot
Hudson told the Superior Court jury he was trying to wrestle his bag back when he heard one of the assailants say, "Shoot him, broski. Shoot him." He then claimed the man in black replied, "Broski, get out of the way so I can shoot him."
"I grabbed the gun with both hands," Hudson explained, stating he spotted a firearm on the road during the struggle. "The man in black had a gun pointed towards me. He fired and then I fired."
When asked why he fired, Hudson simply stated, "I got scared... and I thought they were going to kill me at that moment." Throughout his testimony, overseen by Justice Michael Brown, Hudson showed no audible remorse for the life lost.
The Crown's Aggressive Cross-Examination
Crown attorney Paul Zambonini began challenging Hudson's narrative before a lunch break. In a stark contrast to the defendant's muted delivery, Zambonini was loud and aggressive, questioning Hudson's claim that he arrived at the site unarmed despite carrying valuable drugs and cash.
The prosecutor presented a series of threatening text messages Hudson sent to safe injection site worker Khalila Mohammed after she refused to connect him with customers. In one message, Hudson accused her of fraternizing with rival dealers and warned, "Hang with my opps you gone die with emm." Hudson claimed "opps" meant enemies and said the line was "just a line from a song," not a death threat.
The Crown suggested Hudson was bent on revenge after being robbed by new dealers from Teesdale Place in Scarborough—the same area where Ibrahim and Ali lived—who were encroaching on his territory. Hudson denied this, insisting he had never been robbed at the site before and was not in a conflict with rivals that day.
Zambonini also highlighted Hudson's criminal past, which includes a record for theft, break and enter, and drug possession. The court heard Hudson was shot five times in an unsolved July 2015 attack, spent two weeks in hospital, and was later diagnosed with PTSD in 2017. While Hudson did not explicitly blame his PTSD for the fatal shooting, the suggestion was implied during proceedings.
The cross-examination of Damian Hudson is scheduled to continue on Wednesday. The trial continues to examine the violent chain of events that claimed the life of a mother caught in the crossfire of a drug trade dispute.
