Man guilty in 30-year-old Toronto cold case murder. Judge rejects claim his DNA came from shared joint

Thirty years after Barbara Brodkin was brutally murdered in her Midtown apartment, the man whose DNA was found beneath her fingernails has been convicted of second-degree murder.On Friday, Superior Court Justice Brian O’Marra rejected 69-year-old Charles Mustard’s testimony that he was innocent and that his DNA was recovered because the two had shared a joint slathered with his saliva — something he testified he did to prevent the pot from burning out.O’Marra also dismissed the defence theory that Brodkin’s bitter and violent ex-husband was the cold case’s real killer. He had a history of domestic violence and had been charged with assault and uttering death threats. The couple was also battling over the custody of their young son at the time of Brodkin was fatally stabbed in March 1993.Her ex-husband had been the Toronto police homicide squad’s prime suspect. In addition to having motive, he lived nearby and had opportunity. But police cleared him after a thorough investigation — 295 witnesses were interviewed at the time — and after substantiating his girlfriend’s alibi, the judge said. The ex-husband died in 2009.Mustard, 37 at the time of Brodkin’s death, looked shell-shocked after listening through a hearing aid to O’Marra read his decision. The judge immediately revoked the former teacher’s bail.“I didn’t murder Barbara,” Mustard, who appeared frail, said, putting on his coat and scarf over his blue suit jacket, tan shirt, red turtleneck and dark slacks. A court officer then snapped handcuffs around his wrists and led him out of court, muttering and shaking his head.“It was not the result we were hoping for,” Bob Richardson, a veteran defence lawyer, said standing nearby with co-counsel Amanda Warth. They declined to say anything further but anticipate looking at an appeal. Mustard’s sentencing hearing is next month.Brodkin had no relatives in court Friday but her family members watched the proceeding on Zoom.In her closing arguments, prosecutor Karen Simone said Mustard’s DNA was as if Brodkin, 41, was pointing to her killer from the grave. Brodkin’s body was found by her six-year-old son; he was the one who called 911 early on March 19, 1993.The judge didn’t, however, accept the Crown’s argument that Mustard should be found guilty of first-degree murder because Brodkin was confined in her bedroom closet at the time of the attack. Second-degree murder, however, also carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. The judge will have to decide how long Mustard must wait before he is eligible to apply for parole.Brodkin died from a stab wound to her heart, and there were indications she was strangled.At the time of her death, her fingernails were clipped but it wasn’t until 2018 when a forensics biology lab made the DNA match and Mustard was arrested. DNA testing has advanced considerably since 1993, the judge noted.The Crown’s theory was the motive was robbery. Brodkin sold small amounts of pot and a small cosmetic bag normally stored in her bedroom closet was missing.Mustard was a customer; he also testified he had become a friend — but if that was the case, the judge said, why did he pretend not to recognize her photographs in 2018 on posters at Toronto police headquarters?Investigators created a ruse to bring Mustard to police headquarters at 40 College St. then secretly videotaped him looking at Brodkin’s photos. During his testimony, he denied recognizing her — which the judge called “a blatant and obvious lie,” that he attributed to him wanting to distance himself from Brodkin.Mustard had a lengthy, though dated, criminal record that included convictions for sexual assault and theft.The judge found that Brodkin scratched Mustard as she tried desperately to defend herself during the protracted assault, and that the DNA transfer “was not casual such as passing a moistened cigarette.” His DNA was found under the nails clipped from both her hands.“If she smoked a joint (with him) why would she use both her hands,” Simone said at the conclusion of her case.Betsy Powell is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and courts for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @powellbetsy