Boy, 14, charged with 1st-degree murder after Pickering senior fatally stabbed
'It struck a chord in our community and it's obviously ripped a family apart,' Pickering mayor told CBC Radio
A 14-year-old boy from Pickering has been charged with first-degree murder after an elderly woman was fatally stabbed in the city on Thursday, Durham police said.
The accused appeared via Zoom in Oshawa court on Friday from Durham Regional Police Division 17. During the hearing, he spoke to confirm he had the opportunity to speak with a lawyer, and he understood the charge he faces.
His identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 20.
Police previously said the accused was 13 years old, but corrected his age on Friday morning.
Acting Staff Sgt. Joanne McCabe declined to say what led police to arrest the accused, saying the information is part of the ongoing investigation.
She said Friday the homicide unit will investigate any motive in this case. Police also are not saying whether any weapon was recovered from the scene.
"This appears to be a random attack and we do have no connection between the victim [and] the male in custody," McCabe said.
She said police are not releasing the name or age of the victim at the request of her family.
Attack was unprovoked, police say
The incident happened around 3 p.m. near Lynn Heights Drive and Fairport Road, police said in Friday's news release. A passerby found an elderly woman on the ground outside a residence "suffering from traumatic injuries," the release said.
She was taken to a trauma centre, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Police said Thursday the woman was approached by a male she did not know outside her home. There was a "brief conversation" between the accused and the victim before the alleged stabbing, McCabe said.
Durham police Chief Peter Moreira said the suspect stabbed the woman "in a sadistic and cowardly unprovoked attack that was captured on video," speaking to reporters on Thursday night.
McCabe thanked community members who stepped in to help the victim.
"We appreciate their efforts. The family appreciates their efforts," she said.
Ontario Provincial Police issued an emergency alert on behalf of Durham police around 5:40 p.m., saying officers were investigating a homicide suspect on Lynn Heights Drive and asking residents to shelter in place.
Following the alert, the city of Pickering shut down all public facilities, including community centres and libraries.
Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said the closures happened "after an abundance of caution until there was an arrest made."
"Thankfully that was done in short order," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning earlier Friday.
The alert lifted around 9 p.m. when the boy was in custody. He was arrested without incident at 8:30 p.m., Durham police said in a news release Friday.
Ashe said the boy was arrested at his home.
"The randomness of this act, the senseless violence that occurred on our usually safe city streets is very troublesome," Ashe said.
He said the boy had previously interacted with police and was also "very recognizable in regards to his outfit."
"I think there was an awareness in fairly short order of who the alleged assailant was," Ashe said.
Before the accused was arrested, police had said they were looking for a male suspect wearing a long black trench coat that reached his ankles.
Ashe said he spoke to the victim's neighbours on Thursday, who described her as a "very nice" woman who walked her dogs in the neighbourhood and took care of her husband.
"It struck a chord in our community and it's obviously ripped a family apart," he said.
Witnesses asked to contact police
There was a growing memorial outside the victim's home on Friday, as several people left flowers on the lawn.
Shedia Serrao Fredericks and Gabriela Fredericks live opposite the victim. Both women said they saw a person who matched the police suspect description walking in the area before the stabbing.
Gabriela said she was sitting in her bedroom when she saw the suspect walking toward the victim's home. As her view was partially blocked, she did not see the stabbing, she said.
"It seems like a lot of people have seen him walking around that day, around that time, just because he stood out quite a bit," she said.
Later as she left her house to go to an appointment, Gabriela said she saw someone giving CPR to the victim while a few other neighbours were also there.
"Everybody was here within minutes, police, firefighters, ambulance," she said.
Shedia said she has lived opposite the woman for 31 years. She described her as a quiet lady who always would say hello when she saw her.
"We just go over, clean the snow and help her, because her husband is ill," Shedia said, adding that she was a "very, very nice lady."
Police are investigating reports that the accused was in the area prior to the incident, McCabe said.
Anyone with information about the incident or who may have video footage is asked to contact Durham police or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.
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With files from Metro Morning, Muriel Draaisma and Meagan Fitzpatrick