Injured actor Noel Johansen remembers his wife who died in Lapu Lapu Day attack
Article content
Noel Johansen, an actor who has appeared in several Hallmark movies and various other TV series, paid tribute to his wife Jenifer Darbellay at a vigil held in memory of victims in the Lapu Lapu Festival tragedy.
Article content
Darbellay, an artist and costumer for theatre and film, was one of the 11 people who died when a driver in an SUV rammed into the crowded festival celebrating Filipino culture on the evening of April 26. Adam Kai-Ji Lo, 30, faces eight counts of second-degree murder in connection to the deaths of victims ranging in age from five to 65 years old.
Article content
Article content
Johansen and their 7-year-old daughter, along with more than 20 other people, were also injured.
Article content
Article content
The couple also have a 15-year-old son.
Article content
Johansen, who has appeared in the films Reunited at Christmas, Harvest Love and the TV series When Calls the Heart, Loudermilk, Fargo and The Good Doctor as well as multiple voice acting credits, stood on crutches Monday night as he spoke to a crowd gathered near the site of the incident at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street.
Article content
'What you see here is an injury that means nothing to me because what's inside my heart is broken. Because my wife passed away behind me at the incident,' Johansen said in a video posted by Global News.
Article content
'She never celebrated herself in her life. She never thought of herself, she thought of herself as small in terms of the reach,' said Johansen holding back tears. 'And I can tell you she was larger than life for any of you who know her.
Article content
'So don't be small in life. Be big, reach out and reach out as a human being with everything you have — and please remember us who went through this.'
Article content
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Toronto's Pride parade is meant to be a celebration. But some participants say there's ‘a sense of heaviness'
Lee Dizon remembers last year's Pride parade in Toronto well. He, along with other members of SIBOL Filipino-Canadian Pride Network, danced and waved Filipino flags as they marched through the downtown streets. Crowds of people cheered from the sidewalks while music from other groups marching echoed between the surrounding skyscrapers. 'It was really a pivotal moment,' Dizon recalled, noting SIBOL was the first-ever Filipino organization to march in Toronto's annual Pride parade. It was also the group's one-year anniversary. Marching was also memorable on a personal level. 'We marched last year, yes, as a group,' Dizon said, 'but then we felt like each of us had our own stories to tell.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW SIBOL will be part of the Pride parade this year on June 29, but Dizon said there is 'a sense of heaviness' amid the excitement to march again. With Toronto's annual Pride parade and festival around Church Street just under three weeks away, news of corporate sponsors pulling their funding as they simultaneously roll back DEI programs have put a damper on the spirits of Dizon and others in the city's LGBTQ community during what is typically a time of celebration. Corporate sponsors turning their back on Pride is partially why Pride Toronto says it has $900,000 less this year compared to last. Star Exclusive Pride Toronto loses two more corporate sponsors just weeks before festival launch Ana Pereira Headlines coming out of the U.S., along with some from elsewhere in Canada, on governments targeting and pulling back protections for trans and gender-diverse people have also not helped people's moods. 'It feels like things are moving in the wrong direction,' said Curran Stikuts, director of advocacy and strategic communications for The 519 community centre in the Village. Since February, multiple past corporate supporters of Pride Toronto have pulled their funding, including Nissan, Google and Adidas. Meanwhile, The Abnormal Beauty Company (owned by Estée Lauder) and Tim Hortons lowered their contribution amounts. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW For its part, Pride Toronto says this year's festivities won't be noticeably different, even as the organization has fewer corporate sponsors and higher costs associated with running a large-scale event. 'We are moving ahead full steam,' Kojo Modeste, executive director of Pride Toronto, told the Star last week. But if the organization is not able to make up this loss of funding, Modeste warned that the 2026 celebrations will be affected. At a press conference Wednesday, the director noted that some have stepped up to fill the gap — including the City of Toronto, local businesses and individual people who have donated more than $10,000 — but Modeste appealed for more help. 'This is an opportunity,' he said, 'to come and support to make sure that Pride remains a staple in the city of Toronto.' Millions of people come to Toronto every year for the Pride festival at the end of June, and Pride Toronto says its event is the largest in Canada and second biggest in the world. This year's festival will start on June 26, with most of the events and parades taking place from June 27 to 29. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Gta Thousands sing, dance and celebrate at Pride Parade until protesters strand marchers and floats mid-route Mark Colley Queer people from around the GTA told the Star that news of corporations pulling back their support in Toronto and elsewhere is concerning, but that it has reminded them of Pride's origins as a resistance movement — which dates back to the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969. 'For some it is a party,' said Alyy Patel, founder of Queer South Asian Women's (QSAW) Network. 'But that party has always been grounded in very political roots.' For Patel, Pride has always meant coming together with other queer people, particularly women of colour, to feel liberated in a 'powerful space.' Jansher Saeed added that this year's Pride is an important reminder that the queer community can't become too dependent on corporations for support. 'It's more crucial for us to think of Pride as a protest,' he said, 'as a space where we can build community and where we can support one another, especially in a hard time.' There has been a 'real hunger' from community members at The 519 for these opportunities to be around other queer people, according to Stikuts. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'We recognize as a community the need for that joy in these moments that feel a little bit more perilous,' he said, adding that people just want to 'play and have fun.' As SIBOL prepares to march in its second Pride parade in a changed cultural climate, Dizon said corporations and governments turning their backs on the queer community shouldn't stop him and others from celebrating their identities in public. If anything, it's a reason to keep making their voices heard. 'The fight doesn't stop here,' Dizon said, 'We have a long, long way to go. So continue fighting and continue moving.'
Global News
5 hours ago
- Global News
Nanaimo man handed 3.5 years in prison for arson at Ukrainian priest's Victoria home
A Nanaimo, B.C., man has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for setting fire to the family home of a Victoria Ukrainian priest three years ago. Walter 'Theo' Machinski pleaded guilty to one count of arson with disregard for human life for setting the fire at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church early on the morning of April 20, 2022. Victoria police say the family of five who lived there 'narrowly escaped the blaze, with some forced to jump from second-storey windows while others were rescued by firefighters.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The home remains uninhabitable from water and fire damage. At the time, Father Yuriy Vyshnevskyy, a priest at the church, told Global News he believed someone had poured gasoline through the mail slot to start the fire. The fire happened amid heightened tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, Victoria police now say they don't believe the blaze was linked to anyone's ethnic heritage. Story continues below advertisement 'Investigators determined that this was a targeted offence, in which the accused was known to the family, but it was not motivated by hatred towards an identifiable group,' police said in a media release on Wednesday.
Global News
8 hours ago
- Global News
Police seize over $1M in items, dozens of guns in southern Ontario raids
Police in Barrie, Ont., and Simcoe County say they recovered over $1 million in property including several dozen guns as part of a recent fraud investigation. They say a months-long investigation into a man and woman who were passing bad cheques and bank drafts led them to raid a number of properties located in Toronto, King City, Havelock and Springwater Township. As a result of the searches, police say officers seized personal watercraft, a pontoon boat, construction equipment and high-end watches which all came through use of fraudulent cheques and bank drafts. Officers also seized three motor vehicles, a large amount of Canadian currency and 45 firearms, 35 of which came from a home in Toronto. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In total, police estimated the seized items to be worth more than $1 million. Story continues below advertisement Two individuals are facing multiple charges related to a wide-reaching investigation into vehicle thefts through the use of fraudulent cheques and bank drafts across Ontario… For additional details, please see: @BarriePolice — Barrie Police (@BarriePolice) June 11, 2025 Police say a 26-year-old, Olivia Osborne of Toronto, and 32-year-old Farshid Ayon from Springwater Township are facing a number of charges including theft over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5000, motor vehicle theft, fraud over $5000, uttering forged document, identity theft and identity fraud. The charges are said to have stemmed from incidents in Barrie, Oro-Medonte Township and Prince Edward County, but police in Barrie say the duo may have been operating in a number of other locations throughout southern Ontario as well. 'If any member of the public is a victim of these conspiring fraudsters, you are strongly encouraged to contact your local police service,' a release from police said.
