A city man has been arrested following a double stabbing in downtown Peterborough on Wednesday night that left one person dead and another in critical condition. It was the city’s third homicide of the year.
According to Peterborough Police Service chief Stuart Betts, around 9 p.m. officers responded to a reported stabbing in an apartment building on Simcoe Street between George and Aylmer streets.
A 27-year-old Peterborough woman and a 30-year-old man were transported to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Betts says the woman was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The man was later transferred to a Toronto-area hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Betts said next-of-kin have been notified and the name of the victim will not be released.
A review of closed-circuit television camera footage — both police operated and private — identified a suspect who had left the scene before officers arrived, Betts said.
Around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, officers received information that the suspect was in a wooded area in the city’s east end near Ashburnham Drive and Maria Street.
An extensive police response was launched — which included OPP assistance — and investigators learned two women known to the suspect had been verbally threatened and one was attacked with a hatchet.
“The women were able to escape and flag down police and were taken to PRHC for treatment,” said Betts.
A search of the area led to the arrest of a man and a woman.
Jesse Rowe, 29, of Peterborough, has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, assault with a weapon, two counts each of uttering threats and failure to comply with a probation order in relation to robbery with a weapon charges from a prior incident.
Betts says the accused has a “lengthy criminal history” with police in Peterborough dating back more than a decade, noting Rowe is also currently bound by seven prohibition orders related to firearms, restricted weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
A 30-year-old Peterborough woman found with Rowe was arrested on the strength of a warrant for outstanding charges in August 2023. She was also charged with two counts of uttering threats.
Both were held in custody and are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
“Thank you to the quick work of our officers to have an arrest in this case,” said Betts. “And our OPP K9 colleague for their timely assistance.”
Simcoe Street was closed to traffic and pedestrians between Aylmer and George Streets for about two hours. Police remain on the scene on Thursday.
The incident also impacted Peterborough Transit as the bus depot across from the apartment was not accessible. Some routes had to be rerouted.
The first homicide of 2023 in Peterborough was on June 2 when a woman was fatally shot at the Wolfe Street tent encampment. Family identified her as Sarah King, a Peterborough mother of two. Police said she was not a resident of the encampment.
An arrest was made a week later and a first-degree murder charge was laid.
The second homicide occurred on Aug. 8 when police say city resident Jacob Jansen, 27, was found with a stab wound on George St. North and died of his injuries in hospital. An arrest for first-degree murder was made on Aug. 14
— More to come
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