Leo Henningham, 35, was an unlicensed "gypsy" cab driver in Toronto. He was beaten to death by a rival unlicensed driver in a dispute over a grocery fare. The two drivers were competing for fares outside a Knob Hill Farms supermarket on Weston Road. When the rival driver grabbed a bag of groceries out of a woman's arms and put it in his trunk, Mr. Henningham threw him over the hood of his car, threatened him with a pocket knife and broke three of his teeth with a head butt. According to witnesses, as Mr. Henningham walked away, the killer took a baseball bat out of the trunk of his car and struck him over the head with at least three overhand blows. Mr. Henningham died of skull fractures. The killer claimed he attacked Mr. Henningham with the bat after Mr. Henningham said he was going to get a gun. The killer pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. In January, 1992, a jury convicted him of manslaughter after deliberating for three hours. He was sentenced to only three years in consideration of "a great deal of provocation" on the part of Mr. Henningham. John Rotenberg, president of the Independent Cab Owners Co-operative, said that unlicensed taxis were droing a brisk trade at several locations around Metro Toronto. He said "taxi bandits" had been known to drive away with passengers' groceries, overcharge, and get into fights as they hustled fares. [Next column]

Shoppers at the Weston Road Knob Hill Farms supermarket in 1986. This last location of the pioneering big-box grocery operation closed in 2001. (Source: "The Knob Hill Farms at Weston road and 401 in 1986. Facebook: Old Toronto Series.) "They are a dandy bunch," he said. "They operate right out in the open. It's very common." Mr. Henningham was married and the father of two daughters aged seven years and 19 months old. He came to Canada from Jamaica in 1979. Three months before his death he was laid off his factory job and later started picking up fares in his car. Mr. Henningham was "a very responsible person, always thinking about his family and their well being," said his widow.