Just before midnight on July 30, 1993, a trail of blood led tenants of an 80 Charles St. East apartment building to the viciously beaten body of Norman Bernard Rasky, 62, a retired dentist. Residents followed the blood trail from the lobby of one building to the underground locker room of another, adjoining building. He had been shoved into a basement locker. He was strangled, bludgeoned and stabbed more than 30 times.
Rasky was previously married, and had three daughters.
Police did not originally suspect robbery, but in less than a week, they had identified suspects. On August 3, police issued warrants for “two men, both white [who] are armed and considered dangerous.”
Terrence Allan Fitzsimmons, 29, and Donald Dara Hebert, 30, of 80 Charles St. East, were also wanted in connection with a two armed bank robberies at the same branch of Canada Trust on Bloor St. West, on July 27 and 29. Hebert worked at Sunquest Vacations for the previous three years.
Fitzsimmons had been released from Kingston Penitentiary before the murder, on December 31, 1992, after serving the mandatory minimum. He served six years of a nine-year manslaughter sentence for stabbing an inmate to death.
Fitzsimmons was under the supervision of a parole officer after being released. He was re-arrested in April, 1993 for violating the no-drinking provision of his release order and was released May 27. He left the Kingston area, and a warrant for his arrest was issued July 13.
Police believe the three men met in a local gay bar, and were quick to assure media and the community they did not believe Rasky’s slaying was linked to that of Jack Bell, who was found before police released the names of Rasky’s murder suspects, beaten to death in his home.
Community members provided tips to police regarding the names of the suspects. Police said both Fitzsimmons and Hebert were also gay.
They believed Rasky met and began staying with Hebert in apartment 103, 80 Charles St. East, where Hebert had been living for about a year. Rasky had recently been locked out of his own apartment for allowing homeless men to live with him. .
On August 4, Hebert was found beaten and stabbed to death in a derelict and boarded-up Red Barn restaurant on Bank Street in downtown Ottawa, which was rumoured to be full of transients and squatters. Fitzsimmons had murdered his accomplice.
A day later, Fitzsimmons walked into a police station in Ottawa and turned himself in for both the murder of Rasky and of his best friend Hebert, as well as the bank robberies. Fitzsimmons said, “It’s got to stop. I’m tired of killing people.”
Montreal police also wanted to question Fitzsimmons on the weekend robbery and murder of a cab driver, Fernand Talbot.
It appeared Hebert and Fitzsimmons robbed a bank twice, killed Rasky, and robbed and killed the Montreal cab driver, before Fitzsimmons killed Hebert, all between July 27 and August 4, 1993.
In June, 1994, Fitzsimmons pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing Norman Rasky and, a week later, pleaded guilty to killing Hebert. Both were life sentences. He pleaded guilty in July in Montreal to the killing of Talbot.
On March 30, 1995, Terrence Fitzsimmons was found dead, hanging in his cell at the Kingston Penitentiary.
Murder Village Map
Vital Statistics
Name: Norman Bernard Rasky
Age: 62
Gender: Male
Date of Death: July 30, 1993
Manner of Death: Stabbing, strangulation, blunt force trauma
Location: 80 Charles St. East
Suspect Name: Terrence Allan Fitzsimmons, Donald Dara Hebert
Conviction & Sentence: Fitzsimmons was convicted of second-degree murder and received life in prison. Hebert was murdered by Fitzsimmons prior to arrest
I knew Norman back in early 80’s as a very nice gentle and kind man. He certainly didn’t deserve to die in such a violent way.
Thank you for your kind remembrance of Norman
I remember my uncle Don fondly. Our last name is Hebert, not Herbert.
He was troubled about being HIV positive and had fought bipolar disorder for many years. He was infatuated with Fitzsimmons and may have been manic at the time – the robberies supported a cocaine addiction which likely fuelled further mania.
He was not a monster as I remember him – I was only 13.
The funeral parlour was standing-room-only with so much support from his coworkers & the community. Not the kind of service you’d expect for an alleged spree killer.
Fitzsimmons hung himself in prison.
Hi Patrick
My name is Ashley. We are in the early stages of producing a Canadian documentary based on your uncle and TF. I would like to talk to you about your uncle and some of the events that took place. Can we please connect off-line?
This is about my uncle. I would have been 5 at the time and don’t really remember much. Anyway the correct spelling of our last name is HEBERT. It should be corrected.
I was Don’s co-worker/boss at Toronto restaurants 89/90. He was an extremely nice but troubled man. I was so saddened to hear where drugs led him.
Good bye Terry. I have good memories of you.It’s disheartening to hear that all that Evil in Kingston penitentiary caught up with you.
We had some interesting conversation’s. Hey I recall you said to me in the barbershop when you shaved me,”Don’t worry I like you!
What an interesting time that was!
May you find peace. Robert Alan Brule….
I worked with Victor at Sunquest Vacations & he was a very kind, thoughtful and caring person. He made every day a good day. Happy we were friends.