A 30-year-old Toronto woman has been arrested and charged with murder in the separate deaths of three people in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton, according to the Toronto police.
Niagara Regional Police and Hamilton Police Service said in a news release the victims are: an unidentified woman believed to be in her 60s in Toronto; Lance Cunningham, 47, in Niagara Falls; and, Mario Bilich, 77, in Hamilton.
Sabrina Kauldhar has been charged with second-degree murder in the Toronto death, second-degree murder in the Niagara Falls death and first-degree murder in the Hamilton death.
Police said investigators were able to link the Hamilton and Niagara Falls deaths after they determined the suspect matched the description in both cases. Investigators later linked the suspect to the Toronto death.
Investigators believe Cunningham and Bilich were randomly attacked, while the Toronto victim was known to the suspect, police said.
Niagara police arrested Kauldhar in the Burlington area at a hotel on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. and then charged her with all three murders.
In Toronto on Tuesday, police were called at 2:08 p.m.to the Keele Street and Dundas Street W. area after it was reported that a woman in her 60s was found dead in a home with “visible trauma to her body.”
In Niagara Falls on Wednesday, police were called at 2:49 p.m. to John Allan Park after it was reported that there was a disturbance. When officers arrived, they found a man critically injured. Despite attempts to save his life by paramedics and firefighters, Cunningham was pronounced dead at the scene.
In Hamilton on Thursday, police were called at 12:26 p.m. requesting an ambulance to the parking lot of 209 MacNab Street North, where an unresponsive man was suffering from “significant injuries consistent with a stabbing.” Bilich was taken to hospital, where he died.
At a news conference in Niagara Falls on Friday afternoon, Niagara Police Chief Bill Fordy said the accused appeared in provincial court in St. Catharines on Friday morning to face the three charges.
Fordy said if convicted, the accused would fit the definition of a serial killer. He said he was pleased that police were able to make an arrest given that the killings occurred in a short space of time.
Attacks on the two men believed to be random
Fordy said these types of offences have a “significant impact’ on the three communities, and that Cunningham and Bilich have families left behind in Niagara Falls and Hamilton.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the families,” Fordy said.
Fordy said police are not aware of any connection between the attacks on Cunningham and Bilich or any motive.
The two men “were both going about their business and we believe that they were random attacks,” he said.
Fordy said detectives are also trying to identify another woman who was involved in buying clothing that the accused was wearing when she was arrested. Police would like to identify her to ensure her safety and to find out what role, if any she played in the offences.