York Regional Police are renewing their appeal for information about a suspect wanted in connection with the 2017 shooting deaths of a young woman in Vaughan and a man in Hamilton.
Tuesday marks six years since 28-year-old Mila Barberi was fatally shot in broad daylight while sitting in a vehicle on Caster Avenue in the area of Weston Road and Highway 7. She was rushed to hospital, but died of her injuries. Her boyfriend, 42-year-old Sevarrio Serano, was taken to hospital for minor injuries, but recovered.
Police have said that Barberi, who worked as a veterinary assistant, was not believed to be the intended target of the shooting. They said Serano’s father was known to police and was believed to be connected to organized crime figures.
The killing was eventually linked to the murder of reputed mobster Angelo Musitano, which occurred several months later. Musitano was fatally shot as he arrived at his Hamilton home in his pick-up truck on May 2.
The killings prompted a multi-jurisdictional investigation dubbed “Project SCOPA,” involving York Regional Police, the Hamilton Police Service and the Hamilton-Niagara detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
One suspect, Jabril Hassan Abdalla, was arrested in September 2018 and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Two other suspects — Michael Graham Cudmore and Daniel Mario Tomassetti — fled to Mexico following the killings.
Cudmore was found dead in an abandoned vehicle in Mexico in June 2018. Daniel Ranieri, an associate of his who was described by police as a person of interest in the murders, was found dead in a ditch in Cancun several months earlier in March.
Police said Tuesday that Daniel Tomassetti, now, 32, remains outstanding in connection with the killings of Barberi and Musitano. He is wanted on a Canada-wide-warrant for two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
A $50,000 cash reward from the Hamilton Police Services Board remains in place for information leading to Tomassetti’s arrest and/or conviction.
Investigators are urging anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact York Regional Police, Hamilton police or Crime Stoppers.
They are also urging Tomassetti to get a lawyer and turn himself in.
- With files from Chris Fox and Chris Herhalt
