The man accused of killing a mother of three inside her East York home last weekend appeared in court today.
Twenty-two-year-old Yostin Murillo was led into the Finch Avenue West courthouse Monday morning wearing an orange jumpsuit and a black brace on his left wrist with his hair pulled back in a bun.
Just one day earlier, Murillo was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 41-year-old Rhoderie Estrada.
Police believe Estrada’s killer entered her Torrens Avenue home through a side window sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 2:15 a.m. on May 26.
She was later found with “obvious signs of trauma” and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Several of Estrada’s emotional family members attended today’s hearing. Her mother and father-in-law told CTV News Toronto that no one in their family knows or recognizes Murillo.
They said the family has contractors in the home repairing damage caused by a flood in their basement, but that Murillo is not one of those workers.
Estrada, who worked as a nurse at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, has been described by friends and family as a “lovely” mother who worked hard for her kids.
Her aunt and uncle said the family has been trying to shelter her young children from the reality of what’s happened to their mother.
Speaking to reporters, Toronto police Det-Sgt. Mike Carbone said investigators have an idea for a motive but refused to provide any further details.
An autopsy has been completed and a cause of death determined but police are not yet disclosing that information.
Police say the victim and accused did not know each other.
A man who identified himself as a friend of Murillo’s told CTV News Toronto that he knew him from the shelter system.
“He was back and forth,” Daniel Powell said. “He lived in a shelter. He had a rough life, he got kicked out of a bunch of shelters.”
Powell said he knew Murillo as an “easy going” person who “seemed to have a lot of friends.”
Police said they’re looking to speak with anyone who has had any contact with Murillo before or after the May 26.
Anyone with information is being asked to call Toronto police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
