Toronto police say a 14-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder after a woman in her 70s was fatally stabbed late last week in North York.
Officers were called to the area of Parkway Forest Drive and Sheppard Avenue East area at around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday for reports of a stabbing.
Investigators say the victim, identified as 71-year-old Toronto resident Shahnaz Pestonji, was attacked in a parking lot while loading groceries into her vehicle.
Pestonji was taken to hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Police have previously described the incident as “unprovoked” and say the suspect fled the area before officers arrived.
On Sunday, police announced the arrest of a 14-year-old boy in Toronto, following what they describe as a “coordinated effort by multiple units.”
He has been charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
The identity of the teen, who is from Toronto, is now protected under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Online videos appear to show masked individual speaking about fatal stabbing
The arrest comes as videos circulating online show a masked individual speaking publicly about the incident in an interview.
Police confirm to CTV News Toronto that they are “aware of the videos circulating online,” but have not confirmed the identity of the person seen in them.
Former Toronto homicide detective weighs in on arrest
In an interview with CP24, former Toronto police homicide detective Mark Mendelson, shared his insights on the news of today’s arrest.
Mendelson said investigators took the “fairly rare” step of seeking a provincial court order to release the teen’s identity and photograph, which he noted was from Toronto police - meaning that they’d had some sort of previous interaction with him.
He also pointed to the fact that the accused had allegedly taken to social media to post some of his “thoughts and excuses” online, which Mendelson said could have had a “component in locating him.” He also noted that police had said that the teen was known to frequent the TTC.
Mendelson also pointed to the work of cyber crime investigators, whom he said also likely played an important role in finding the suspect and building the case against him.
“But we do know that it was (a) fairly quick (arrest), but it might be a combination of all of those investigative avenues that they followed. And here we are, and now he’s been charged,” he said.
“I would certainly love to see the face of his defence lawyer when he sees these videos, if, in fact, it is the suspect’s videos.”
Proving that it is the accused in those clips will be one of the first orders of business, Mendelson said, pointing to some aspects in them that he believes will be “very troubling for the defence.”
“One is he admits to being there. He also admits to having an interaction with this elderly woman. He actually gives a bit of a motive in terms of why the interaction took place. And he also admits to the stabbing,” Mendleson said.
“So this is very damning information, if this matter does in fact go to trial.”
It should be noted that the suspect’s face is covered in the clips.
“You know, the Crown will make their best efforts to prove that it is, in fact him, and the defence will raise the doubt that it isn’t him. I mean, we just don’t know all of what is available now,” Mendelson said.
“I mean, you can be sure they’re seizing his electronic equipment and they’ll be able to trace that back and see if those postings came from maybe his cell phone or another electronic device. So there’s all kinds of ways that they can confirm or corroborate that it is, in fact him.”
Mendelson said he expects that the accused will have a brief court appearance on Monday and will be remanded into custody.
He added that at this point in the investigation the accused has been charged with second-degree murder, a charge he said could be upgraded once the case goes through the court system and other evidence is obtained and presented.
“And we don’t know what this young man has said to the police since his arrest,” he said.
“So there’s all kinds of things that will be taking place where they may. There may be a reassessment moving into first-degree murder, which of course is planning and deliberation.”
CTV’s public safety analyst discusses case
Chris Lewis, CTV’s Public Safety Analyst and former OPP Commissioner, also shared his thoughts with CP24 this evening about the boy’s arrest and the charges he’s facing.
He said the police surely know much more about this case than what they’re sharing publicly.
“How did they find him? How did they track him? Did a friend tip them off? Did they track his cell phone technology? Did they surveil different locations and people that he normally hangs out with in order to try and see him pop up? There’s a lot of things that have happened there, or may have happened,” Lewis said, adding that Toronto police’s Homicide Unit would have “all the resources in the world and all the capability to bring this investigation and arrest to a close.”
Lewis went on to say that investigators would have tried to obtain information about the suspect from those who know him and would also have been scouring the teen’s social media feeds as well as his cell phone, adding that they also likely watched his “known hangouts and people he’s known to hang out with to see if someone’s going to show up that looks like the suspect they’re looking for.”
Lewis also pointed to the video stream the suspect was allegedly seen on.
“Well, the Crown could prove that it was ultimately him, through interviews, through a whole variety of technical investigation pieces that the Crown could try to put that in court because it’s pretty important evidence,” he said.
Lewis added that he finds it “chilling” that the accused is being referred to as a “boy.”
“This is a 14-year-old who is talking so kind of nonchalant about killing someone. you know. He talks about why he was there, what happened, and said, you know, didn’t really intend on killing her, but so be it,” the expert said, adding that the most jail time the accused could face, as a young offender, is 10 years.
Lewis also said the youth could possibly be tried as an adult, depending on the severity of the crime and other potentially connected incidents. The Crown attorney may also attempt to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder, he added.
Investigation is ongoing
Toronto police continue to investigate this case and are asking anyone with additional information to contact them at 416-808-3300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
