Vigil held for volunteer caretaker killed outside mosque

A vigil was held this afternoon for a volunteer caretaker who was fatally stabbed in the neck outside a mosque last weekend. Melissa Nakhavoly has the details.

A vigil was held Saturday afternoon for a volunteer caretaker who was fatally stabbed in the neck outside a mosque last weekend.

The funeral for 58-year-old Mohamed-Aslim Zafis took place earlier this week.

Yesterday, police announced they’d arrested a suspect in his death.

Advertisement

Guilherme “William” Von Neutegem, 34, of Toronto has been charged with first-degree murder.

The International Muslim Organization thanked police for their work on the case and said they ask that the possibility of a hate crime be explored.

“The IMO will be calling on the Toronto Police Service to investigate the murder as a potentially hate-motivated homicide,” the organization said in a statement Friday.

Police had previously indicated that Zafis’ death may be linked to another homicide after Rampreet “Peter” Singh, a homeless man who lived under a bridge several kilometres away, was stabbed to death five days earlier. However, homicide detectives said there is no update on that case at this time.