[URBAN NOTE] "Of no fixed address: the life and death of Paul Crombie"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Catherine Porter explores the story of the life of Paul Crombie, a homeless man recently killed near the St. Lawrence Market, and of what took how he got there.

The first news reports of his death referred to a brawl near St. Lawrence Market.

Jackey heard about it while having her first coffee, watching CP24 in her pyjamas. The same thought flashed through her mind as every time she heard about a homeless person’s death.

“Please God, don’t let it be my brother. I hope he’s OK.”

Later that day, at her office in Aurora, her eldest brother arrived with the news she’d been dreading for a decade.

“Paul’s dead,” he said. Then something she didn’t expect: “He was killed.”

By that afternoon, more than 20 members of their family were gathered, crying andwatching the news about the July 18 killing. The reports were more detailed. There had not been a brawl, but a fight between two drunk men. The 50-year-old victim was named: Paul Crombie.

Each report felt like a backhand across the face to Jackey, who along with her siblings asked to be identified by their first names only. The line that stung most, repeated with each broadcast, was that Paul was “of no fixed address.”