The father of a woman charged with killing Toronto-area man Sina Parsi says the sight of his daughter in the back of a police cruiser left him with "mixed emotions."

Sabrina Chouart's father, Martial Chouart, was in Toronto on Wednesday to pick up the dog that was abandoned by his daughter and co-accused Clyde Marshall. The bull mastiff was found tied to a post earlier this month and taken to Toronto Animal Services while police continued hunting for the suspects.

They were arrested on Monday at a Wal-Mart in Niagara Falls, Ont. Local police were called to the store after shoppers spotted the pair.

Sabrina Chouart, 27, and Marshall, 36, have each been charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Chouart's father says seeing a televised image of his daughter in the back of a police cruiser earlier this week left him feeling both sad and relieved at the same time.

"It was sad to see her in the car," Chouart told CTV Toronto. "Mixed emotions – happy that she was caught, sad that she was caught. Just as a father, I felt sad."

According to Chouart, his daughter rarely called him. He says the last time they spoke was in February, when she called to wish him a happy birthday. Chouart blames Marshall for keeping them apart.

"He wouldn't let her call me. That's what she told me," he said. "She used to call me from a cellphone from work so that he couldn't find out about it."

Investigators previously said Marshall was known to police.

"(He) has a long history of violence when he's been in custody and out of custody," Det.-Sgt. Michael Patterson told reporters on Monday. "He's known to carry a knife at all times and will use it if confronted."

Parsi, 32, disappeared after attending a local soccer game north of Toronto on June 9. The Vaughan, Ont., man's body was found three days later in an eighth-floor apartment unit in the area of Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto.

Both Marshall and Sabrina Chouart had lived in that apartment for approximately two years. Their relationship with Parsi is still not known.

Chouart says he plans on taking the abandoned dog with him to his home in Quebec.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Ashley Rowe