TORONTO – A jury found Damian Hudson guilty of second-degree murder Friday evening in the 2023 shooting death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat, a case that reignited debate over the safety of supervised consumption sites in the city.
Supervised Consumption Site Shooting: Man Convicted in Toronto
A stray bullet during a dispute outside a health center claimed the life of a mother of two, leading to a landmark legal battle over addiction treatment.
- Damian Hudson faces a life sentence with no parole eligibility for 10 to 25 years.
- The shooting occured near the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in Toronto’s leslieville neighbourhood.
- The case prompted reviews of 17 consumption sites across Ontario and led to new legislation restricting their locations.
- A legal challenge to the new restrictions briefly kept some sites open, but funding issues ultimately led to closures.
The verdict came after a trial examining the events of 2023, when a fight between three alleged drug dealers outside the South Riverdale Community Health Centre resulted in a bullet striking and killing 44-year-old Huebner-Makurat. Police said at the time that Huebner-Makurat, also known as Caroline, was an innocent bystander.
Q: What is the penalty for a second-degree murder conviction in this case?
A: damian Hudson automatically receives a life sentence, with no possibility of parole for a period between 10 and 25 years, as persistent by the court.
The family of Huebner-Makurat expressed gratitude for the work of Toronto police, Crown attorneys, and the jury in securing the conviction. “Our family, friends, loved ones, local community and neighbours will remember Caroline forever as we move forward with our lives,” they said in a statement.
The shooting prompted a swift response from the Ontario government, which ordered reviews of 17 supervised consumption sites province-wide. New legislation was subsequently enacted, prohibiting these sites from operating within 200 metres of schools or daycares, impacting 10 locations.
Organizers of a Toronto site challenged the law with a Charter challenge, and a judge granted an injunction to temporarily allow them to continue operating earlier this spring. however, many sites ultimately opted to transition to an abstinence-based model due to a lack of provincial funding, leading to widespread closures.
This report was first published Dec. 19, 2025.
