Murdered His Parents, Tried To Blame His Brother, Toronto Man Gets Life Sentence

An Etobicoke man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his parents and the attempted killing of his brother in a case that Toronto’s Superior Court described as brutal and deliberate. Justice Joan Barrett ordered Alpha Henry to serve 17 years before parole eligibility for the second-degree murders of Colin and Veronica Henry, with a concurrent 14-year sentence for the attempted murder of Daniel Kwame Henry.

The court heard that Henry, now 32, showed no emotion as the sentence was delivered. He will be eligible for parole in September 2039 after spending roughly three and a half years in custody since his arrest.

What the court found happened

On Sept. 21, 2022, Toronto police were called to an apartment at 27 Bergamot Ave. in Etobicoke and found Henry inside the unit. Officers discovered the bodies of Veronica Henry, 67, and Colin Henry, 68, in a bathtub, and the judge later found that both had been stabbed repeatedly to death in their home.

The evidence showed that Veronica also suffered blunt force injuries to her face, including a fractured nasal bone. The court said Henry moved the bodies into the bathtub, placed one on top of the other and poured gasoline on them while trying to clean the apartment.

How the attack unfolded

According to Barrett’s verdict and sentence reasons, Henry then used his mother’s cellphone to contact his brother and ask when he would return from a work trip abroad. Daniel Henry worked as a flight attendant for Air Canada, and the message gave him time to respond without immediately realizing what had happened.

When Henry learned his brother would not return until the next day, he used the time to steal cash from the apartment, hired a sex worker and later came back with pizza. The judge said he returned with a plan to ambush Daniel, but the attack failed because Daniel fought back and managed to resist.

1. Henry bought a knife set and sharpener at Canadian Tire.
2. He selected the largest knife for the attack.
3. He waited for Daniel inside the apartment.
4. Daniel overpowered him during the struggle.
5. Police quickly saw through the false blame placed on Daniel.

Barrett said the attempted framing did not hold up, and officers released Daniel without charge after recognizing the account was not credible. The judge added that if Daniel had not fought back, he likely would have suffered the same fate as his parents.

Sentence and legal findings

Barrett said the crimes were severe and highlighted Henry’s lack of insight into his conduct. She also said his prospects for rehabilitation were limited because he continued to deny responsibility and insisted that his brother was the killer.

“The offences are brutal in nature,” Barrett said, noting that Henry’s moral blameworthiness was significant. She also said the evidence showed the killings were planned and would likely have amounted to first-degree murder if the brother had not intervened.

Henry did not testify at trial, which was heard by judge alone. The court also noted that he had some prior contact with police but no criminal record before the killings.

Family response and victim impact

Colin and Veronica Henry were described in court as active members of the Kingsview Village Seventh-day Adventist Church. Friends said Colin served as a deacon, while Veronica led community service efforts and volunteered at the church food bank.

In victim impact statements, relatives and friends described a family that gave generously to others. Janet Bernard, a friend of the Henrys, said the couple “gave so much of themselves but asked for nothing in return,” while Veronica’s nephew, Alton Dikey, said the family would never recover from the loss.

Yvonne Henry D’Avalir, Colin’s sister, said the killing of her brother has forever changed the family. She wrote that Colin regularly supplied vegetables to relatives and that the loss remains impossible to understand.

Key details from the case

Barrett said Henry had been estranged from his family since May 2021 and had been living in unstable housing. She also said the case included mental health challenges, homelessness and a lack of prior convictions, but those factors did not outweigh the planned and violent nature of the crimes.