Police charge 72-year-old woman with murder after female found dead in wooded area of Pickering

Police have charged a 72-year-old Clarington resident with second-degree murder after a female was found deceased in a wooded area in north Pickering last night.

Police say that the individual, who has not yet been identified, was found deceased in a heavily wooded area near Pickering Concession Road 9 and Sideline 28 at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The incident was initially classified as a suspicious death, however on Monday afternoon police issued a news release confirming that they have charged a 72-year-old woman with second-degree murder.

They also said that they have secured a residence on Fairway Drive in the Wilmot Creek area of Clarington as part of their investigation.

A cause of death has not been released.

“Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem from the Centre of Forensic Sciences before confirming the identity of the deceased female,” the release notes.

The police investigation into the homicide remains active.

Police say that they are asking anyone with information “pertaining to the investigation” to contact investigators.

RESIDENTS SHOCKED

In the Clarington neighbourhood under investigation, residents say they are shocked.

Wilmot Creek is a sprawling gated community, about a 40 minute drive from north Pickering.

Residents who have lived in the area for many years describe it as friendly to CTV News Toronto and say they have never seen police in the streets.

Several neighbours, including Elizabeth Lyszkiewicz, say two women live in the home, which is now part of the police investigation.

A Clarington resident speaks about an ongoing police investigation in her neighbourhood (Beth Macdonell/CTV News Toronto)Lyszkiewicz is friends with one of the women but hasn’t been able to reach her.

“They are living together but not very close. Like a roommate,” she said.

“It’s really scary seeing the police and the yellow tape, because what yellow tape indicates is something serious happened.”

Forensic investigators along with the homicide unit are working on the case, gathering images and speaking with people nearby.

“One thing that the homicide investigators have told me is that there are no safety or community concerns,” Acting Sgt. George Tudos, Durham Regional Police told CTV News Toronto.

Many who live in the community say seeing police and hearing of a murder is still unsettling.

“It’s shocking and upsetting,” said resident Ted Morrison. “I’ve never seen police tape in here before. It's a very quiet place.”

“Normally it’s crime free, friendly people. So I was a bit shocked,” said resident Bob Leveille.

“People are super friendly, super safe, it’s usually very quiet, so this is very unusual,” said resident David Webb.