He 'touched souls'

Dreams, passion of 21-year-old man slain on subway
remembered with his own words
By BRIAN GRAY, SUN MEDIA

Mourners focused on the passion and the joy Nick Brown
brought to everything he did as they laid to rest the 21-year-old
who was slain on the subway last week.
Brown would have wanted to be remembered in his own words,
his uncle Giuseppe Pileggi said during the solemn remembrance
yesterday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Scarborough.
"I am a unique young man," Pileggi said, reading from his
nephew's journal. "I see my future only if I choose to get
there. I want the best for my family, my friends and myself."
Brown wrote that he "touched people's souls" with his words
and that he worried he might never live up to the success
he dreamed about.
The young man worked as a night manager at a sub shop,
while spending his days in a plumbing co-op program
through Central Tech. He dreamed of owning a restaurant.
His plumbing instructor eulogized Brown as a hard-working
and focused student who was eager to work hard but ready to
help others, too.
"With all that he did Nick somehow managed to find time
to study and maintain an 80% average,"
Central Tech teacher Robert Schrader said. "Nick had a
passion and an energy that we all admired."
Of his future, Brown wrote: "I can't wait, for I am enjoying
the climb to my success."
Toronto Police believe Brown was on his way home April 13
when he was killed during an altercation on an eastbound
subway car as it entered Victoria Park station.
Brown was found at Kennedy station about 1:40 a.m. suffering
from multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 26-year-old Toronto man charged with second-degree
murder in Brown's death shivered yesterday in a Scarborough
courtroom as he made a brief appearance before a justice of the
peace.
John Paul Vallon, dressed in a short-sleeved orange jumpsuit,
only glanced towards the spectators in the courtroom, his hands
stuffed into his pockets.
There did not appear to be any friends or family in the
courtroom.
He then quietly complained to duty counsel Richard Sherman
that he was cold.
Vallon, who was arrested Thursday afternoon, returns to
court April 30 in a video remand.
Pileggi credited homicide investigators for their hard work
in securing the arrest, and said he would like to see more
security cameras around the city with higher resolution.
Police released a TTC video of a man leaving Victoria Park
station before the murder was discovered.
Brown's family felt some relief when police told them about
the arrest, Pileggi said. But they would still like witnesses to
go to police with any information they have.

"I am reaching out my hand, please come forward, we
need your help," Pileggi said.


ITS SAD TO SEE WE HAVE WITNESSES TO A CRIME THAT
WOULD PREFER A KILLER WALK FREE THAN THIER
PRIVACY BE INVADED.