A 17-year-old boy found with life-threatening injuries following a stabbing at a massage parlour in the city’s Downsview neighbourhood on Monday afternoon has now been charged in connection with the deadly attack.
Officers were called to Crown Spa, located near Dufferin Street and Wilson Avenue, at around 12:40 p.m. on Monday for a reported stabbing.
When officers arrived, a teenage boy and a female were found outside the building suffering from “laceration-type” injuries, police previously said.
The lifeless body of a woman was found inside the massage parlour and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
She has now been identified by police as 24-year-old Ashley Noell Arzaga.
Police said the teenage male found outside the building, who has now been charged in connection with the stabbing, sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital for treatment.
The woman who survived the attack was also transported to hospital in serious condition.
In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, Toronto police confirmed that the 17-year-old has now been formally charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
The accused, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was scheduled to appear in court today.
'He took my finger off,' victim says
A woman who says she is the owner of the massage parlour where the stabbing occurred told CTV News Toronto that she was first alerted to the attack when she heard screams coming from a back room of the building on Monday afternoon.
She said when she went to investigate, a machete-wielding suspect lunged at her and stabbed her in the arm.
“He didn’t say anything. He brought a machete to my … arm,” she said. “He took my finger off while I was trying to grab [the weapon].”
The owner said she struggled with the suspect and the two ended up outside in the parking lot of the spa.
“I fought. I fought hard. I took the machete from him,” she said, adding that she wounded the suspect with the weapon.
Police told reporters on Monday that a weapon had been recovered but would not confirm that a machete was used.
Investigators have not yet commented on possible motives but say the investigation is ongoing.
-With files from CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding
