Police have charged a 38-year-old man in connection with an alleged machete attack in Scarborough that left a woman dead.
Toronto police said the attack happened around 6:15 p.m. in the area of Morrish Road and Ellesmere Road, north of Old Kingston Road, on Wednesday.
Insp. Stacey Davis said they received multiple calls from witnesses that saw a man allegedly chasing the victim with a machete.
Police said the man allegedly struck the woman repeatedly. When officers arrived, police said they located the victim with horrific injuries.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.
The victim has been identified by police as 27-year-old Tharshika Jeganathan, of Toronto.
Tharshika Jeganathan, 27, is seen in this undated photograph posted to social media. (Facebook)
Police said the suspect turned himself in after the attack and there are no outstanding suspects.
Sasikaran Thanapalasingam, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder and appeared in court this afternoon wearing an orange prison-issued jumpsuit.
The victim and suspect were in a previously domestic relationship, police said.
A police source told CP24 that the victim was from Sri Lanka and, prior to her death, had plans to end her marriage.
Court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto show that Thanapalasingam was issued a peace bond that prohibited him from having contact directly or indirectly with Jeganathan. He was not supposed to be within 500 metres of where she lives, works, or goes to school, the documents say.
Sasikaran Thanapalasingam, 38, is seen in this undated photograph posted to social media. (Facebook)
Jeganathan was an employee of Dollarama and the company issued a statement on Thursday saying that staff is “deeply shocked and saddened” by her death.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the victim of this terrible tragedy,” the statement said. “For privacy reasons and as this is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to comment or provide any information in this matter or regarding our employees. We will provide the authorities with our full collaboration, and we invite you to contact them directly for any available information.”
Naz Khan, a resident in the area where the incident occurred, area told CTV News Toronto that Jeganathan was found outside her home in the driveway.
“My husband heard the screaming,” Naz Khan said. “I ran to see what’s happening and then I see people running around and calling 9-1-1 and getting help.”
Another area resident said that it is surprising that such incident happened in his "quiet neighbourhood."
"Things like that don't happen around this area at all," Jason Jaikaran said.
Thanapalasingam is expected to appear in court again on Sept. 18 at 10 a.m.
