TORONTO – Toronto Police have identified 55-year-old Nighisti Semret, a hotel worker with no known family in Canada, as the victim of Tuesday morning’s brutal early morning stabbing.
Semret left her job at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, where she worked as a supervisor of the night time cleaning staff, at approximately 6:30 a.m., just a half-hour before she was attacked.
Security camera footage released by police shows her walking on Bleecker Street with an umbrella pulled close to her head to protect her from the heavy rain.
The suspect, a white man with an average build wearing dark, clothing can be seen following her with his hand firmly in his pocket. Police believe he was holding a knife.
Shortly after walking out of the security camera’s frame, the suspect attacks Semret, stabbing her a number of times before a passerby intervenes. The suspect can again be seen on the security camera footage running from the scene.
Semret was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital where she died of her injuries.
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According to police, Semret is an African refugee lived alone. So far they have been unable to locate any next of kin in Canada and are now appealing to immigration officials.
“(It) appears at this point that she lived a very quiet and private life. We made efforts all through the night to identify next of kin and were unable to,” Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux said.
Investigators say her private, modest life led them to believe the brutal stabbing could be completely unprovoked.
Police suggested the suspect may be known by members of the Cabbagetown community.
“I think the area needs to step up for her and let us know who this person is,” Giroux said. “The offender lives, frequents, and is known in the Cabbagetown, Regent Park area of the city. Someone in that particular area knows who this person is.”
Toronto Police say they will be increasing patrols of the area while they search for a suspect and are warning residents to remain vigilant.
“Once again we repeat that women in the area, and men quite frankly, should be aware of their surroundings, and that’s why I had a conversation with the unit commander with regards to increased physical police presence in those areas so that members of the community can feel safer,” Giroux said.
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Police say there have been a number of similar incidents in the area and while none have involved a fatal stabbing, homicide investigators are looking for possible connections.
Samantha Thornton, a mother of three children who has been living in the area for over 20 years, tells Global News that the seemingly random murder is “traumatizing.”
“Our daycare is just around the corner here. It’s a little nerve-wracking to see that this has happened in such a great community,” Thornton said. “To know that a random act like this could have happened to an innocent bystander is really traumatizing to me, the community, and the family of this woman.”
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