An Ontario judge has acquitted a man charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Matthew Rumble, 39, at Jane subway station in June 2024. Tefai Opoku-Boadu, then 22, was arrested and charged shortly after the incident. The judge’s decision highlighted a confrontation between Rumble and Opoku-Boadu that began on a TTC bus before escalating at the subway station. Following an altercation upon exiting the bus, Rumble was stabbed in the chest by Opoku-Boadu, who then fled the scene and disposed of the knife in a nearby parking lot.
Opoku-Boadu, who did not testify, claimed self-defense, while the Crown contended that he instigated the conflict and used his own knife to attack Rumble. The ownership of the knife was a crucial aspect of the case, with the judge ultimately ruling that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Opoku-Boadu did not act in self-defense. The decision also noted Rumble’s aggressive behavior towards Opoku-Boadu before the stabbing occurred.
The judge concluded that even if the knife belonged to Opoku-Boadu, he had reason to believe Rumble posed a threat, given the circumstances. While acknowledging Opoku-Boadu’s inappropriate behavior on the bus and his subsequent attempts to evade arrest, the judge did not find evidence to suggest he anticipated or consented to a violent altercation.