A man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 73-year-old mother in a downtown Toronto apartment has been remanded in custody following a court appearance on Thursday.
Emergency responders were sent to a building in the River and Cornwall streets area, north of Dundas Street East in the city’s Regent Park neighbourhood, after receiving a medical call at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Police said the body of an elderly woman was found at the apartment with “obvious signs of trauma.” Authorities deemed it a suspicious death and the homicide unit took over the investigation.
Police later placed a man in custody.
The accused, identified as 37-year-old Matthew Maxwell, appeared in court on Thursday and faces one count of second-degree murder.
Court documents obtained by Global News identified the victim as Colleen Maxwell. Her cause of death has not been released by police.
Residents in the apartment co-op said the woman was well known in the building and was seen as social events in the community.
The accused is scheduled to reappear in court by video on Sept. 27.
The death is Toronto’s 70th homicide of 2018.
—With files from Catherine McDonald