Toronto police say they have arrested a 14-year-old suspect in the apparently unprovoked and fatal stabbing of a 71-year-old woman.
On Friday afternoon, police announced they were searching for a 14-year-old boy wanted for the second-degree murder of Shahnaz Pestonji the day before.
It was Thursday morning after 9:30 a.m. when the stabbing took place. Police were called to the area of Parkway Forest Drive and Sheppard Avenue East for reports that a woman had been stabbed.
When they arrived, the woman was non-responsive and life-saving measures were attempted. Police said she was rushed to hospital by ambulance, where she later died.
Homicide Det. Matthew Pinfold said on Friday the police investigation was working under the assumption the incident was a robbery gone wrong, which turned into a “deadly attack.”
On Sunday, police announced they had arrested the suspect in Toronto, following a “coordinated effort by multiple units.”
The youth was charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, July 21, at 10 am.
Police were initially given a rare judicial exemption to name the 14-year-old suspect, despite Canadian laws which generally prohibit the naming of potential young offenders. However, that exemption expired with his arrest and his information must now be removed from the public domain.