The shadows finally close in on Alpha Henry, three years after a horrific act shattered a Toronto family. He will be held accountable for the brutal slayings of his parents and the attempted murder of his brother, a reckoning long overdue for a calculated and callous crime.
The evidence painted a chilling picture: Veronica Henry, 67, endured sixteen agonizing wounds, ten focused on her head and neck. Her husband, Colin Henry, 68, suffered fourteen sharp injuries, a desperate struggle etched into the wounds on his hands. It was a savage attack, as Justice Joan Barrett declared, a scene of unimaginable violence.
After the brutal assault, Henry callously dumped his parents’ bodies in a bathtub and doused them with gasoline, attempting to erase the evidence of his monstrous deed. His motive, the judge stated, was pure, unadulterated anger – a simmering resentment that boiled over into unspeakable violence.
The court found no doubt that Henry intended to kill. He repeatedly targeted vulnerable areas, ignoring his parents’ desperate attempts to defend themselves. His actions demonstrated a deliberate disregard for life, a chilling persistence in inflicting fatal harm.
Hours before the murders, Henry had indulged in a party with a sex worker and ordered pizza, all charged to his parents’ account. Then, he waited, armed with a newly purchased butcher knife, for his brother, Daniel, to arrive. As Daniel entered the apartment, Henry lunged, screaming obscenities, but the flight attendant fought back, narrowly escaping with his life.
In a stunning act of deception, Henry then dialed 911, fabricating a story of his brother’s rage, claiming Daniel had murdered their parents and attempted to kill him. He attempted to shift the blame, to manipulate the system, but his carefully constructed lies began to unravel.
The judge saw through the facade, declaring it a “planned and deliberate attempt to kill” Daniel Henry. The motive was clear: Daniel represented an obstacle to Henry evading justice and continuing a lifestyle funded by his parents. He sought to eliminate the one person who could expose his crimes.
The roots of this tragedy lay in estrangement and bitterness. Henry had been excluded from his family’s move and relegated to a rented room, his mother providing food. When that arrangement failed, he found himself homeless, consumed by resentment. He was even escorted from a building’s boiler room by police just hours before the murders.
On the night of September 19, 2022, Henry slipped into the building with another tenant, gaining access to his parents’ apartment. Within thirty minutes, the horrific attack unfolded, a brutal assault fueled by rage and desperation.
Initially, Henry attempted to claim not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, requesting a psychiatric assessment. However, the assessment proved unfavorable, and he abandoned that defense. The central question became whether he possessed the intent to kill – a question the court definitively answered in the affirmative.
The defense argued the injuries were “superficial,” attributing the violence to mental health issues and marijuana use, urging a manslaughter conviction. But Justice Barrett dismissed these claims, detailing the devastating extent of the wounds. Veronica Henry’s jugular vein was perforated, and Colin Henry suffered a wound that penetrated his lung.
These were not superficial injuries, the judge emphasized, but deep, deliberate wounds inflicted with a sharp instrument. While acknowledging potential mental health struggles, there was no diagnosis and no evidence of drug use. Henry knew precisely what he was doing.
Now, Alpha Henry faces a mandatory life sentence, the length of parole ineligibility yet to be determined. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March, a final step in bringing closure to a case marked by unimaginable loss and calculated cruelty. Justice, after three long years, is finally within reach.
