Marissa Bentley is living with a haunting image: her boyfriend, Brandon Nichols, slipping away as she desperately tried to save him. The final moments unfolded in a dilapidated building, a last refuge from the winter’s chill, and are etched forever in her memory.
Bentley recounted the frantic scene, her hands pressed against a single, devastating stab wound to Nichols’ abdomen. She held on, applying pressure until police arrived and asked her to step back. It was in that instant, she says, that his life truly ended. “As soon as I let go, he stopped breathing,” she whispered, the words heavy with grief.
Emergency services found Nichols, 45, unresponsive in the hallway of the building on Dundas Street. He was rushed to hospital, but the injury proved fatal. Bentley, 31, remembers a man full of kindness, someone who would readily help anyone in need. “He didn’t deserve to die,” she stated, her voice thick with emotion. “He was a great guy.”
The building, a known haven for London’s homeless population, offered a fragile sense of security. Bentley and Nichols were among those seeking shelter within its walls, a desperate attempt to escape the biting cold. Many found refuge in the hallways, a temporary reprieve from the harsh realities of life on the streets.
A chilling premonition led Bentley to search for Nichols on Monday night. She described a powerful intuition, a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. Following that instinct, she found him near the back of the building, a man attempting to stem the flow of blood from the wound.
In his final moments, Nichols expressed a heartbreaking fear: dying alone. Bentley held him, offering what comfort she could, but the damage was irreversible. He was originally from Oneida of the Thames First Nation, a community now mourning the loss of one of their own.
Nichols’ past was marked by struggle, including a long battle with addiction and several encounters with the law. He was once charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2015 death of James Willits, but those charges were later dropped after a preliminary hearing.
Another man, Steven Antone, ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Willits case and received an eight-year prison sentence. Travis Chrisjohn was sentenced to time served for aggravated assault. The shadow of that past now hangs over Nichols’ own tragic end.
Jesse James Brown, a longtime friend of Nichols, was also present in the building that night. He described being “in complete shock” and struggling to comprehend the loss. Brown remembered Nichols as a respected figure in the Old East Village, a man who was genuinely liked by many.
Police meticulously collected evidence and canvassed the neighborhood in the days following the incident, but as of Wednesday, no arrests had been made. Nichols’ death marks the first homicide in London this year, a somber start to a new year.
Bentley is now grappling with an uncertain future, mourning the loss of the man she loved and the father of his eight children. She expressed a deep desire to leave the building where he died, a place now filled with painful memories. “I honestly don’t even want to be here,” she confessed.
A candlelight vigil is planned to honor Nichols’ life, a small gesture of remembrance for a man whose life was cut short. The vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, a moment for the community to come together and mourn the loss of Brandon Nichols.
