Former kindergarten teacher gardening when fatally stabbed in Pickering attack

Details are emerging following the random assault of a woman in her 80s stabbed multiple times outside of her Pickering home by a 14-year-old boy.

Neighbours say the elderly woman was gardening in the front yard of her home, located in the Fairport Road and Lynn Heights Drive area, on Thursday, when the suspect, a 14-year-old boy dressed in a long, black trench coat to his ankles, approached and randomly began stabbing her in broad daylight.

She was transported to a Toronto-area trauma centre, where she died from her injuries.

CityNews has learned that the woman in her 80s was a retired kindergarten teacher who lived at home with her husband. Police have not identified her, citing the family’s request for privacy. A vigil is set to take place in the neighbourhood on Friday night.

Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) Staff Sergeant Joanne McCabe said police believe the woman did not know the young man who fatally stabbed her.

“I have heard that community members did step in [to help the woman]. To them, I say thank you,” said McCabe.

The 14-year-old, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), appeared in court on Friday and is facing a first-degree murder charge.

Police initially said the accused was 13 years old, but the birth date entered into the court system was March 26, 2011, making the suspect in custody 14 years of age. His next court appearance is set for June 20.

Masked suspect in black jacket fled on foot after unprovoked attack

Police issued an emergency alert late Thursday afternoon asking area residents to shelter in place after the woman was stabbed. The suspect fled on foot and was arrested several hours later.

A local who was in the area moments after the brutal daylight attack tells 680 NewsRadio he witnessed the suspect walking away.

“I pointed him out to my son. I said, ‘Look at how this guy is dressed.’ He’s wearing a long, black trench coat that goes all the way down to his ankles. He has a black mask on. Black gloves on. It looked like he was carrying a briefcase or something,” the witness said.

“He noticed us looking at him. He actually put his hand up and waved to us. That was really, super creepy.”

The man told 680 NewsRadio he had never seen the young teenager in the neighbourhood before Thursday’s fatal and unprovoked assault.

“I had never seen anyone dressed like that before. I had never seen him before. I think that’s why he stood out so much,” the local continued. “He wasn’t panicked; he wasn’t scared. It wasn’t obvious that he had just done something.

“It was very, very creepy,” he said.

Investigators said they’re aware of surveillance footage showing the suspect walking in the neighbourhood before the fatal stabbing.

DRPS Police Chief Peter Moreira offered condolences to the victim’s family, calling the attack an “unthinkable tragedy that should not have happened.”

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe offered his sympathies to the victim’s family on social media and thanked police for “bringing this to a quick resolution.”