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OTTAWA, CANADA,
APR 15:
A former Ottawa man found dead on Tuesday in Edmonton was stabbed
five times or more, and robbed of up to $2,000 before being jammed
into the trunk of his taxi cab, police say. An autopsy on the
body of Hassan Yusuf, 41, showed he was stabbed multiple times in
the upper body -- one of which was a fatal strike. However, police
say Mr. Yusuf, whose wife and children still live in Ottawa, might
have been alive when his assailants put him in the taxi last week.
"Had he been given immediate medical attention, he may have
survived," said Edmonton police spokesman Chris McLeod.
Police say Mr. Yusuf picked up two men and two women early
Friday near a Mac's convenience store. They asked him to head to
an area near Alberta Hospital, which lies close to the city's
northeastern limits.
When his taxi came to a stop, Mr. Yusuf was pulled out of the
taxi and stabbed several times on the road. Mr. Yusuf tried to
fight back, but one of the strikes pierced his lung.
His attackers then disabled the cab's global positioning
system, put Mr. Yusuf into the trunk, took his money, and ditched
the car behind a liquor store. It took police more than four days
to locate the taxi.
Mr. Yusuf's body was expected to be released yesterday after
the autopsy so it can be buried at an Islamic centre in Edmonton.
The burial is planned for today, as soon as possible after the
death, according to Islamic religious traditions.
Police said yesterday that they have arrested and charged
25-year-old Karl Blair Strongman of Ponoka, Alta., with
first-degree murder, unlawful confinement and robbery in
connection with Mr. Yusuf's death.
Police are searching for two other suspects, Ronald Adrian
Crane, 27, and Deidre Renee Baptiste, 23, both of Hobbema, Alta.,
on the same charges. It is believed that all three suspects may be
connected to well-known Edmonton street gangs.
The three are all known to police. Mr. Crane, described as five
feet-nine, 260 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, is already
scheduled to appear in Edmonton court April 21 on a previous
charge of carrying a concealed weapon. And Ms. Baptiste was
already wanted on an outstanding warrant issued Oct. 7 2004, for
failing to appear in court on a charge of aggravated assault.
Mr. Yusuf's slaying has left close-knit Somalian communities in
Edmonton and Ottawa reeling in shock. Many community members are
concerned for the welfare of his widow, Fahria, and the couple's
seven children, who range in age from one year to 20 years old.
The couple emigrated from Somalia to Ottawa in the early 1990s.
Unable to find work in the agricultural science sector for which
he was educated, Mr. Yusuf was forced to become a part-time taxi
driver.
He moved to Edmonton less than a year ago, lured by the booming
economy out west. But, he was again faced with driving a taxi to
earn a living. Mr. Yusuf had been in Ottawa just a few weeks ago
to make the final arrangements for his family to join him, a
friend said.
"You don't expect this in Canada. He went there to make a
living, not to die," said Abdirizak Karod, executive director of
the Somali Centre for Family Services in Ottawa, which was
organizing a meeting for tomorrow to plan fundraising for Mr.
Yusuf's family.
In Edmonton yesterday, more than 100 cab drivers gathered
downtown and tied black ribbons to their cars, driving in a sombre
parade around City Hall to show respect for Mr. Yusuf.
Co-op taxi driver Mohamed Chebli knotted together ribbons until
a dark streamer two metres long fluttered from his white cab's
rooftop aerial in the cold rain and wind.
"We prayed together at the mosque," Mr. Chebli said. "He was a
very, very good man. Honest to God, if I could breathe life back
into him, I would do it."
Still full of questions about her husband's death, Mrs. Yusuf
wonders why it took four days before her husband's taxi was
reported missing by the Yellow Cab company. "The question is why
didn't they know about Hassan being missing for days?" Mrs. Yusuf
said. "Please, if possible, I want to know."
Some cab drivers were asking similar questions. "It is
surprising the body was there for four or five days," said G.S.
Klair, a driver with Capital Taxi, a company formed by disgruntled
Yellow Cab drivers. "The company did not bother to keep track of
him."
Mr. Yusuf's roommate called Yellow Cab on Friday and again on
Saturday to tell them Mr. Yusuf had not come home.
Sid Slach, Yellow Cab's district director of operations denied
yesterday that managers or supervisors had any knowledge the
cabbie was missing.
"We have no knowledge of anybody phoning at this time and
reporting a missing driver," Mr. Slach said. "We are currently
going through all of our telephone calls and investigating into
great detail all the calls that came into our offices."
Taxi drivers work as subcontractors and do not work set hours,
he added. They sign in and off on computerized dispatch systems
that automatically shuts off if untouched for four hours.
Bill Handous of Capital Taxi said two funds have been set up at
TD Bank, one for Mr. Yussuf's family and one for the families of
all cabbies killed on the job.
A Better Life: Hassan Yusuf was highly educated, but only found
work as a cabbie, page F1. | 
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