EDITORS NOTE: A previous edit of this article incorrectly stated McDonald was already in custody for the shooting death of a man in December 2012. The incident occurred in December 2016. AM980 regrets the error.
Nearly five years to the day after Jonathan Zak was shot dead in a London park, police have charged the man they believe was responsible.
During a news conference Friday afternoon, London Police Detective Sergeant Alex Krysgman announced a second-degree murder charge against 26-year old William McDonald, of no fixed address. McDonald has been in custody since February for a separate second-degree murder charge in connection to the December 2016 shooting death of Emmanuel Awai in east London.
“He truly was an innocent victim,” said Krygsman, telling media and family members Zak became the intended target of a robbery as he walked through Northeast Park in the early morning hours of May 31, 2012, when he was shot and killed.
“In the past several months, investigators have been able to gather additional evidence related to Jonathan’s murder from a variety of sources. In addition, advancements in technology permitted more thorough examinations of evidence.”
Jonathan’s mother, Jean Vak, attended Friday’s conference and thanked police for their work investigating her son’s death.
“On behalf of all of my family and Jonathon’s friends, I want to express my sincere appreciation for the team’s work in solving this case… I am so grateful that all of you never gave up, and we now have someone charged. The city of London should be very proud of our police force.”
Police say McDonald was informed of the additional charge Friday morning and would be appearing in court.
Zak was 29-years-old when he was killed. A janitor found his body near Lord Elgin Public School.
Comments