Man pleads guilty to manslaughter after fatal fight in Parkdale rooming house

Timothy Graves has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and breaching a bail condition, admitting that he beat his roommate to death in the Parkdale rooming house where they both lived, a place the 59-year-old was not supposed to be.

According to an agreed statement of facts read out in a downtown courtroom Tuesday, on the evening of Jan. 23, 2024, Graves and Mychaluk were drinking vodka together in the living room of the rooming house at 48 Fuller Ave. near Queen Street and Lansdowne Avenue.

A verbal argument erupted between the two men who were alone in the living room before things turned physical.

“At some point during this altercation, Mr. Mychaluk uttered words to the effect of, ‘you’re going to get it this time,’ and tried to bite Mr. Graves,” said assistant Crown attorney David Parry, reading from the facts.

The facts state, the owner of the property, who also lived there, had been asleep in his main floor bedroom. He was awakened by the fight and opened his door to see Mychaluk lying on the ground with very limited movement. Graves was standing above him and neither man was speaking.

During the altercation, Graves punched Mychaluk in the head and face numerous times, including after Mychaluk was lying on the floor unable to defend himself.

The rooming house owner also observed Graves kick Mychaluk in the head at least four times while he was on the groumd.

After kicking Mychaluk, Graves asked the property owner for money and then fled the scene.

911 was called and around 7:25 p.m., police arrived and found Mychaluk lying on his back in a hallway. His face was swollen and covered in blood. He was unresponsive though still breathing.

Mychaluk was rushed to St. Joseph’s Health Centre in critical condition and remained in hospital for the remainder of his life — approximately 10 months. He could not speak and required around the clock care including a feeding tube.

On Nov. 23, 2024, the 63-year-old died. The cause of death was complications of blunt impact head trauma.

Court heard that on April 5, 2023, roughly nine months before the deadly assault, Graves and Mychaluk were involved in a dispute and Graves was arrested.

A day later, Graves was released on bail with conditions including that he not attend the rooming house in Parkdale. Sometime during the summer of 2023, he moved back in.