Two men are facing murder charges after Peel Regional Police say three women died in two separate, unrelated acts of domestic violence hours apart in Brampton and Mississauga.
Police said four people were at a Starhill Crescent home, north of Dixie Road and Sandalwood Parkway in Brampton, when officers were called at around 10:45 p.m. Friday.
Two women, 60-year-old Avtar Kaur and her 32-year-old daughter Baljit Thandi, were found dead inside the home. Police said both were fatally stabbed.
Police said Dalwinder Singh, a 29-year-old man and Thandi’s husband, was arrested at the house. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. There was also a child inside the home at the time, but police said they were uninjured.
At around 1 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to Marmac Crescent, south of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Burnhamthorpe Road West, in Mississauga with reports of a stabbing.
WATCH: Peel Police say they found two females in distress after responding to a call at a Starhill Crescent home.
“Officers attended the residence to do a residence check. Upon arrival, there was a female that was in obvious signs of distress,” Const. Bancroft Wright told reporters early Saturday.
The woman was subsequently pronounced dead.
Police later said two teenage girls were in the house and one had to be taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A 61-year-old man, who police haven’t identified but said is the husband of the woman, was arrested at the scene. He was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
READ MORE: Ontario’s police watchdog invokes mandate in domestic-related murder in Mississauga
Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), announced Saturday it invoked its mandate. The agency said the arrested man was diagnosed with a serious injury after a previously-undisclosed “interaction” with police. It’s not clear what happened during that interaction.
The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury or alleged sexual assault.
Wright called both incidents “unfortunate.”
“We’ll have at least four families that have been affected by this on this night,” he said.
News of the deaths has shocked neighbours in both cities.
In Mississauga, Laura Galvin said she spoke with the family frequently.
“It’s heartbreaking … You don’t know what happens behind closed doors,” she said.
“You never suspect something is going on and then something terrible happens and it’s just a shock.”
— With files from Erica Vella and Jessica Patton
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