Agoracom Blog

AGORACOM Mourns The Loss Of Oliver Martin In Senseless Double Murder

Posted by AGORACOM at 2:51 PM on Saturday, June 14th, 2008

THE SAD PART

It is with great sadness, shock and anger that we report the senseless loss of our friend, Oliver Martin, pictured on the left. Oliver was murdered just after midnight on Friday the 13th, along with his childhood friend, Dylan Ellis, while sitting in their Range Rover waiting for a friend after watching the Celtics/Lakers NBA game. Both were just 25 years old.

Me and the AGORACOM team first met Oliver at our Bay Street Hold ‘Em networking events, where he immediately stood out as an up and coming member of the Canadian finance scene. Oliver was a cool, polite, sharp-dressed and fun guy that we always invited back to our invite-only event. He also had a great poker face and actually placed in the top 3 at one of our events.

What I will remember most about Oliver were the incredible ties he always wore as part of his impeccable attire – and our inside joke that I would constantly try to buy them from him at our events.

Oliver was the youngest and only boy in a family of 4 children. Oliver and Dylan were inseparable childhood friends.

THE SHOCKING PART

You can read all the details of the murder via the extensive media coverage but by all accounts Oliver and Dylan were sitting in their truck in front of their friend’s condo just off the Toronto business district. They had just finished watching the game, actually left the area but came back for an “innocent reason” and were waiting for their friend to come down and meet them. Perhaps one of them forgot a cell phone, or returned to pick up the friend to go out for drinks? UPDATE: They were retrieving forgotten keys.

In any event, within seconds of pulling up, they were murdered in what police believe to be a botched car jacking. Police have gone out of their way to let everyone know that neither of the two were known to police and lived nothing short of exemplary lives.

THE ANGRY PART

Oliver and Dylan are dead because they drove a fucking Range Rover. We lost two exemplary citizens, children, brothers, buddies, colleagues over nothing more than a fancy truck. A random, senseless murder that could have been any of us. A crime that exemplifies the path of this city. One in which gutless “gangsters” run around with guns – and in which an even more gutless mayor governs with impotence.

Criminals in both Toronto and Canada operate without fear. Law abiding citizens have become nothing more than Zebras crossing the Mara River knowing full well some of them are going to be picked off by crocodiles. At least in Africa it is part of the natural food chain. In Toronto it is nothing more than a crime chain where hard working, law abiding people are made to feel as if they owe something to petty thieves.

I don’t know what is going to happen but the situation has to change and it has to change now. Criminals have to start living in fear. Criminals need to start getting picked off. If politicians can’t get the job done, the time may have come for angry white-collar men to take care of business themselves.

We work hard, we abide by the law and we pay our taxes. We owe nothing to the criminal underclass except for what now may be shaping up as a good fight. I know I speak for many who feel the same way. We’re sad that Oliver is gone but the manner of his passing requires a reckoning.

11 Responses to “AGORACOM Mourns The Loss Of Oliver Martin In Senseless Double Murder”

  1. AGORACOM says:

    ArmyFriend, reading your comment this morning made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I hope the day comes when you once again look forward to returning to Toronto for your annual Christmas events.

    Not seeing Oliver at our poker networking events still seems strange. I hope his ties have found a worthy gent.

    It appears that micro violence such as the boys murder, Mumbai and recently in Tijuana is becoming the new front line. Governments will need to find a solution. I’m afraid the only solution is mid-evil as kicking of violent criminals. The time for crim rehab has passed us by. I wish we had you patrolling our streets and getting rid of gun toting, drug dealing criminals – but your mission in Afghanistan is more important right now.

    I wish you god’s blessing and protection in Afghanistan. I know the boys will be watching over you. Please feel free to post here and let us know how things are going.

    Regards,
    George

  2. ArmyFriend says:

    George,

    Dylan and Oliver were my two Best friends growing up and the loss we have all felt over this tragic incident has remained strong to this day. Never again will I look forward to returning to toronto at christmas time for our annual events as the memory will be over powering. I am in the Army and will be deploying in the coming months to afganistan and bringing their memories with as I have each day since the incident in the hopes it makes me a better solider whether we all agree or not I believe that I serve canada to maintain the live style that we are Canadians as honoured to live with and this violence was never part of that vision. I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for your words you are absolutely correct and the candidrealism says what society is beginning to steer away from.

    Thank you for your thoughts,

    PS Yes Oliver had the best ties I have ever seen : )

    ArmyFriend

  3. AGORACOM says:

    IMSN, thanks for coming by and adding your comments. Good to hear from everyone on this topic.

    Having said that, I have to remind you and Val that there is no “racist” element to this. The division I see is between two groups:

    * Hard-working, law abiding citizens (1)
    * Violent Criminals (2)

    There is no black, white, yellow, christian, muslim, jewish element to this. It is strictly group 1 vs. group 2. I see no reason why 1 has to be forced to co-exist with 2. Do you?

    To bring the point even closer to home, I had criminals cut my phone lines last night in an attempt to steal the cars out of my garage. To do so, they would have needed to gain entry into my home to steal the keys. I have a newborn in the house and typically up at all hours of the night….so running into them would have been entirely possible.

    Thankfully, I have multiple layers of security in my home and they weren’t successful as my home lit up the neighborhood like a Christmas tree.

    BUT

    Why should I or other hard-working, law abiding citizens have to put up with this?

    Why do people like you choose to accept this…or does it take a close to home incident for you to wake up? Let me know the answer to that next time you are woken up at 2:30 AM to blaring sirens, lights flashing and cut phone lines, not knowing if criminals are already in your home, or even in your chidren’s room.

    Unlike you, I know why bad things happen to good people. Bad people take advantage of the doe-eyed idealism of people like you and choose to commit violent crimes knowing full well you will run to excuse them.

    You talk about Oliver and Dylan “leaving this world so early on” as if they were characters in a sad story that floated away to heaven on a fluffy cloud. What you need to see is the smoke from hot lead rising out of their dead chests, the blood spatter and the shattered glass. What you need to hear are the multiple blasts of a gun at point blank range, their helpless screams, their pleas to spare their lives and the crash of bullets into bone. What you need to smell is smoke from the gun fire.

    These kids were brutally murdered in a terrible minute of violence. You need to open your eyes and stop looking at violent crime as if it were an unfortunate little spat between children in a school yard. Good people have been killed and buried. Good families have been devastated. Bad people are wandering the streets looking to do it all over again.

    I respect your opinion but could not disagree with it more. This city is going to get far worse and your appeasement is going to be the catalyst.

    Regards,
    George

  4. lmsn says:

    First off, I’d like to say that although I did not know either of these two young boys, my heart goes out to their families who now have to deal with the grief that comes in having them leave this world so early on.

    Secondly, I’d like to say that I’m so relieved to read comments from people like Val who even in the face of such tragedy can remember the importance and the imperativeness of not making this an “us” against “them” scenario, and recognizing that turning to hatred or classification of any one person or race will only cause further problems for all of us.

    We never know why it is that bad things happen to good people, but it’s important to remember that judging all by the actions of one will get all of us exactly nowhere and will only help to further widen the divide which is already so prevalent in this city in so many ways.

  5. AGORACOM says:

    Torontolovesyou, thank-you for dropping by and I am sorry for your loss. Obviously, you knew Oliver (and Dylan) better than we did. I never met Dylan but I imagine he was exactly like Oliver, who who had everything going for him and chose to share his blessings with others. We lost two good people.

    Val, thank-you for your comments as well. There is no racism here, just a demand for accountability from anyone that commits a violent crime. Our reaction would be identical had the shooter been black, white, yellow, brown, Greek, Italian, Christian, Jewish or Muslim. The “We” are law abiding citizens who are getting picked off by “they”, who are violent thugs, gangsters and criminals.

    2008 in Toronto has been they year of the slaughter of innocents – and I am voicing the silent opinion that so many of us hold.

    Though I respect your opinion and comments, much of them have contributed to our current position. No accountability, just excuses. Criminals didn’t get enough hugs…the law gives them too easy access to guns…the government doesn’t provide enough handouts, etc, etc.

    We’ve become a nation of excuses in which nobody is held accountable anymore. Our view isn’t too simplistic. Rather, your view is too complicated and provides criminals with too many outs once they get to the stand. Lawyers thrive on this. I know because I am one. They will always find a way to point the finger back at “society”. I am sure Hitler had some real beefs about post-WWI society in his head – but his actions still made him a criminal.

    This is what it all comes down to. Actions. Trust me, hardworking people have their own beefs. Higher taxes, higher tuition, fewer services, a degrading health care system for our kids, etc. But we don’t use these real stresses as excuses for criminal behavior. We don’t compensate for our short falls by just taking from our fellow man. We work harder, we write letters to our representatives, we make hard choices, we vote – and we still don’t get what we want. But we love life enough to have a laugh with our fellow man and live life to debate another day.

    Violent criminals, on the other hand, don’t want to play by the rules and work harder. They want things their way right now. No hard work, no hard choices, no voting. Just take. Spend a couple hundreds bucks on a smuggled burner and wave it into the face of hardworking, law abiding, tax paying citizens.

    Maybe it’s time society started pointing one back. Maybe it’s time criminals started looking over their shoulders and considering their actions twice. If one of us is going to be looking over our shoulders, I’d rather it be them.

    Regards,
    George

  6. Val says:

    It is impossible not to be touched by the senseless loss of Oliver and Dylan. But it does them no justice to begin a “we and they” rant. We know what happened, but we don’t know why. Whatever the reason, it is tragic. The reasons behind these senseless murders may have to do with systemic social problems that can’t be solved or understood by assuming that all life comes down to the “guys” who work hard and those who don’t. Life is too complex for that sort of simplistic thinking. If in the end, the murderer is a mentally ill individual, who fell outside the system, then we will have reason to look for the mental health system to change. If the individual is someone who was able to purchase a handgun easily, without barriers, then we need to look for ways to limit the presence of guns in our society. We need and want to create a civil society where all sorts of people can and do coexist, and who all share the benefits and protections of a democratic society.

    Don’t let the loss of Oliver and Dylan result in hatred or demonizing anyone. Let it be a call to action and positive activism that brings together people across social, cultural, political and racial lines; people who all believe that every life has value and has the ability and potential to contribute to our collect well being.

    Oliver and Dylan deserve much more than a surge of hatred or the stirring of racism. Let their deaths stand for something in the end. Let these senseless, horrific deaths be a catalyst for positive social change. That is within your control. Just because it may not have been part of your reality in the past, it is now. Just because this wasn’t what you considered to be your life, now you know it can be. We need to look as one on the social issues of our society, and until we do, we will be haunted by “we and they” and we will all be at risk. The hatred born of racism is no less damaging than the hatred born of oppression.

  7. torontolovesyou says:

    Thank you George for stating what I am too enraged to say.

    Vancouver Dude, your comments are offensive, uncalled for, and ridiculous. We live in a country where individuals are free to live how they see fit, and to drive whatever car they want. It’s those who infringe on others’ freedom that are at fault, and should be held accountable for their actions. Criminals deserve to be punished. Especially when the crime is so violent. Do not blame the victims, especially when it is so undeserved.

    Dylan and Oliver were kind souls in life (in addition to being law-abiding, tax paying contributing members of society on paper). These boys were not the type to pass judgement on anyone, regardless of background. They would probably be the first ones to forgive those who have done wrong to them. Ironic, as we left behind are mourning their loss, and seeking retribution.

    Vancouver Dude: your prejudice categorizes our friends as self-made targets, who deserved their fates. Their killer passed the same judgement when he deemed them unworthy of life, and took our loved ones away from us

  8. AGORACOM says:

    Vancouver Due, sorry but your logic is way off. Successful (aka hardworking) people buy better quality products and services for a number of reasons. Reliability, safety and yes, design. They neither have to apologize for it, nor look over their shoulder.

    The difference is that hardworking people earn them, while shooters simply want to take them. Either way, they both want better things for their lives.

    As such, only one simple question remains. Which one do you think needs to be erased from the face of the planet?

    George

  9. Vancouver dude says:

    That’s what happens when you have the bling autos… Sometimes when you’re looking for attention (which most people driving Range Rovers do), you attract the wrong kind of attention…

  10. Marathon_Man says:

    sad….My regrets to the families and freinds.

    rest in peace

  11. […] beyond his “constituency”. 2008 has turned into Toronto The Violent, including the murder of Oliver Martin, one of my own […]