The woman accused of killing three people in three days in three Ontario cities also admitted to attacking strangers on buses in the Waterloo region.

Sabrina Kauldhar, who was arrested in October, has been charged in the deaths of Trinh Thi Vu of Toronto, Lance Cunningham of Niagara Falls and Mario Bilich of Hamilton. While investigators believe Kauldhar knew his first victim, the other two are believed to be random attacks.

The story of Josué Douma

In May 2018, Kauldhar pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and threatening to kill in connection with a series of incidents in Kitchener and Waterloo that the judge called “bizarre behavior.” She was then 23 years old.

Joshua Duma was one of these victims.

“I was assaulted, threatened and ultimately attacked by her,” he told CTV News on Tuesday.

Duma was riding the Erb Street West bus in April 2018, on his way home from work, when a stranger approached him.

Duma said Kauldhar took the phone from his hand and threatened to kill him, then returned to his seat.

“Things escalated and she started assaulting other passengers.”

Kauldhar then poured a drink she had with her over another passenger. When a second passenger spoke about it, she was attacked.

“I tried to intervene, then I was attacked,” Duma said.

He said Kauldhar hit him.

The bus stop where Sabrina Kauldhar attacked Joshua Duma and other passengers. (Krista Simpson/CTV News)

When she finally got off the bus, passengers called the police.

The court later heard that Kauldhar was arrested by police who identified her based on the distinctive triangular tattoo between her eyebrows.

Kauldhar had also been involved in another incident on the same day she attacked Duma.

According to facts read in court, which Kauldhar did not dispute, in this case, Kauldhar was traveling on a northbound Grand River Transit bus on King Street West.

When the bus stopped in front of Grand River Hospital, Kauldhar stole an iPhone 7 from another passenger who was riding the bus with friends. Kauldhar then got off the bus. The group of friends also got off the bus and started following Kauldhar. The court heard that a friend of the person whose phone was stolen reached out to touch Kauldhar’s arm and asked if they could talk.

Kauldhar told the woman not to touch her again or “I will kill you.”

She then left on foot.

The cell phone was later found in a trash can.

Joshua Duma on November 12, 2024. (Krista Simpson/CTV News)

Court heard that at the time of the incident, Kauldhar was already on probation for assault-related incidents that occurred in the Orillia area.

The duty counsel representing Kauldhar in Waterloo Region noted that while the incidents involved “acts of violence against strangers,” Kauldhar also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was a youth with a limited criminal record. Duty counsel also said Kauldhar was living in a Toronto shelter at the time and did not admit to any drug or mental health issues.

The Crown ultimately recommended a sentence of 15 days, less remand, followed by probation.

Judge John Lynch said he was “somewhat surprised at this generosity” and would accede to the recommendation, but told Kauldhar in passing sentence: “I don’t know what’s going on here, but this seems like bizarre behavior and it’s behavior that will land you in detention for well over 15 days.

The Duma agreed with the judge’s assessment that what happened could be described as bizarre.

“In general, it was really unexpected,” he told CTV News. “You know, on the bus you meet all kinds of people, but you don’t really expect anything to actually happen until it does.”

Kauldhar’s new accusations

As for the three October deaths, Kauldhar currently faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The cases are still before the courts and nothing has been proven yet.

A Toronto judge recently ordered Kauldhar to undergo a mental health assessment to determine whether she is fit to stand trial. Kauldhar’s lawyer objected to the order on his request.

Sabrina Kauldhar, 30, is pictured in these distributed photos. Kauldhar faces charges in connection with three homicides in the Greater Toronto Area. (Hamilton Police Service)

The Duma’s reaction

Duma said his meeting with Kauldhar did not seem to be a problem more than six years ago. Now he has a different opinion.

“I think I’m actually very lucky that it was just an assault,” he said.

In an unusual twist, Duma said he met Kauldhar again about a year and a half after that incident on the bus.

He was leaving work when a person he believes to be Kauldhar tried to throw a shopping cart into his car.

She didn’t actually hit his vehicle, so he didn’t report the incident to police, although Duma said he told his manager.