Man beaten to death in park swarming

Kristian Thanapalan, 23, was beaten to death early July 12, 2009.

Toronto police are searching for the thugs who beat a twenty-three year old man who was looking forward to starting his studies at York University in September.

According to reports, a little after midnight Saturday morning, Kristian Thanapalan and five of his friends had just finished playing volleyball and were about to get something to eat when they were attacked by 25 men with baseball and cricket bats.

A friend who was able to escape and does not want to be identified said, “There was no reason to hit us, we never had no problems, so I think it could have been a territorial issue. They probably thought we were new guys coming here.  We never had nothing to do with them, they had nothing to do with us.”

He said they were sharing the park with another group of men who were playing cricket at a nearby baseball diamond and “we were about to leave to get some food.  We went to our cars and a bunch of guys came from two angles and pretty much surrounded us. A couple of us were able to run off,” he said.

He said his friend was not so lucky. He said the men divided into groups, and a group started pounding Thanapalan and Thanapalan did not see the fatal blow coming.

Police are still searching for suspects and have scheduled a news conference for sometime today.

A viewing is scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. at Ogden Funeral Home on Sheppard Ave.