Teen pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder of 83-year-old Pickering woman outside home
Posted April 13, 2026 6:24 pm.
Last Updated April 17, 2026 6:03 pm.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to comply with an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
During a court hearing on April 9, a teenager charged with fatally stabbing a beloved 83-year-old woman outside of her Pickering home in 2025 has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in court.
Details of the plea and documents previously presented during the court hearing were sealed by a judge’s order on April 17.
As previously reported by CityNews, Durham Regional Police officers said 83-year-old Eleanor Doney was fatally stabbed on the afternoon of May 29. Later that day, officers charged a then-14-year-old suspect with first-degree murder. When the search for the suspect occurred, Durham Regional Police officers issued an emergency alert to warn the public.
Shortly after the incident, Doney’s family released a statement and thanked the community for an “outpouring of love and support.” Doney was a retired kindergarten teacher who lived at home with her husband.
“We especially want to thank the first responders for all of their efforts. We take comfort in the fact that she was a woman of strong Christian faith,” the statement said in part.
The matter is scheduled to return to court on July 14. A hearing on sentencing still needs to occur.
