Peel Regional Police say the death of woman found unresponsive outside of a Mississauga home last week is now being investigated as a homicide.
At around 9:10 a.m. on March 20, police were called to a house on Westmount Avenue, near 1st Street, for a medical emergency and when they arrived, 43-year-old Cheryl McVarish was found lying on the ground outside of her residence.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators previously said McVarish had been missing since the morning of March 13 when she disappeared from the area of Lakeshore Road East and Cawthra Road.
The circumstances around the woman’s death were initially considered to be suspicious and police confirmed Wednesday that McVarish’s death has now been ruled a homicide.
Her whereabouts between the time she was last seen and the time she was found dead is not yet known.
Investigators say they will not be releasing the victim’s cause of death at this time.
"Every homicide is different," Const. Harinder Sohi told CTV News Toronto. "Some are easy, as in the case of a shooting or a stabbing. This one was a bit more complex and it took time to get the results back."
Peel Regional Police also noted that they believe the homicide was an “isolated incident” and there is no threat to public safety.
Despite this, residents in the area say the incident has left them unnerved.
"It's very scary," one resident said. "Things happening in the neighbourhood like this... It's really upsetting in a way, you know. Where is the security?"
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at the Homicide and Missing Person’s Bureau at (905) 453–2121, ext. 3205.
