Victim of fatal motel assault identified; London man, 41, charged with second-degree murder

A London man charged in an alleged domestic assault Sunday at a south London motel that later turned fatal has had their charge upgraded to second-degree murder.

It comes a day after London police announced the woman critically injured in the incident had died of her injuries in hospital.

Police had been called to an unspecified Wellington Road South motel around 4 a.m. Sunday for a possible disturbance and, at the scene, located a woman in critical condition with injuries sustained from an apparent assault in a room.

The woman, identified by police as Maryhelen Johnston, 39, of London, was rushed to hospital. She died of her injuries on Wednesday. A post-mortem exam was conducted Thursday, but the cause of her death remains under investigation.

Police said she and the accused in the case, identified as James Braun, 41, of London were in a long-term relationship.

Braun was initially charged with aggravated assault in the investigation, but on Friday police announced the charged had been upgraded to second-degree murder.

He is set to appear in court on May 21.

This is London’s fourth homicide investigation for 2019, and comes the same week a man was fatally stabbed at an apartment complex on Connaught Avenue.

Samnang Kong, 38, of London has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Issara Norindr, 55.