Piyush Mangukiya was at home in Moncton, N.B., Friday night when he got a call from a friend near Ottawa.
That’s when he learned his best friend, Dharmesh Kathireeya, had been killed more than 1,000 kilometres away by car in Clarence-Rockland, Ont.
Mangukiya made the drive overnight to be with Kathireeya’s wife, Ravina.
“I don’t have any words,” Mangukiya said. “I can’t believe that he’s not with me right now.”
Kathireeya, 29, was killed just before 3 p.m. on Friday at a residence on Lalonde Street, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
On Sunday, OPP deemed the death a homicide and identified the suspect as 83-year-old Gilles Martel. Police have charged him with second-degree murder.
A spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that OPP cannot speculate on a motive at this point.
OPP also would not confirm the cause of death, but wrote the initial call came in as a reported stabbing.
‘Always helping everybody’
Shortly after getting married in India, Kathireeya and his wife moved to Rockland early in 2022, Mangukiya said.
He said Kathireeya had dreams of going on a vacation with his wife and giving his family a stable life.
“He’s really kindhearted. He (was) always helping everybody — even if he knows somebody by like third person, he would love to help him,” Mangukiya said.
Kathireeya managed the local Milano Pizza, and would often make deliveries to customers like Tammy Landreville.
“He was a really nice person, very kind,” Landreville said. “It was just nice to see him all the time.”
Landreville said she felt “gutted” and “very saddened” when she heard Kathireeya had died.
Milano Pizza president Mazen Kassis said in a statement that Kathireeya was “extremely smart, hard working and most of all, sincere and respectful.”
“I can’t begin to tell you how heartbroken everyone is,” Kassis wrote.
The Gujarati Cultural Association of Ottawa set up a GoFundMe page to help send Kathireeya’s body back to India.
The organization’s president, Diptav Shah, said the community is in shock.
“They are just in disbelief that such (a) thing could happen in Ottawa,” Shah said.
‘Who’s gonna call me every morning?’
Mangukiya said he and Kathireeya spoke over the phone daily and had spoken just hours before Kathireeya was killed.
“Who’s gonna call me every morning?” Mangukiya said, adding he’s been getting a lot of phone calls from people asking how they can help.
“I’m really glad that he’s got that much love from the local community,” he said. “Dharmesh will always stay in our heart and our memories forever.”
A memorial is being held in Toronto on Tuesday.
