Woman dead, husband in custody after police called to Oshawa home

Durham police say they are investigating a homicide after a woman was found with significant injuries at a home on Eulalie Avenue in Oshawa Sunday November 17, 2024.

Durham Regional Police say they're investigating a homicide after a woman was found with “significant injuries” at a home in Oshawa overnight.

Police were called to a house on Eulalie Avenue, in the area of King Street East and Ritson Road South, on Sunday at around 12:30 a.m.  

“Officers arrived on scene and located a 48-year-old female suffering from obvious signs of trauma,” Acting Staff-Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss told reporters outside the home Sunday morning.

First responders administered CPR and the woman was then rushed to a Toronto-area trauma centre, police said. However she was pronounced dead a short time later.

“Her husband, a 41-year-old male, is in police custody and is facing a charge of first-degree murder,” Bortoluss said.

She added that the couple’s two children – both five years old — as well as an elderly woman were home at the time of the incident. However none of them were injured.

Yellow caution tape could be seen wrapped around the home Sunday, with a police cruiser sitting outside.

One man who spoke with CP24 said he awoke to flashing lights from what “seemed like a million police cars” and his family looked outside to see what happened.

Durham police say they are investigating a homicide after a woman was found with injuries at a home on Eulalie Avenue in Oshawa Sunday November 17, 2024.

“They saw them bring out a woman and try to resuscitate her, and they saw our neighbour being pulled out and being arrested, and yes, the children being taken out of the house,” Ron Mohr said.  “It's unfortunate, because we've been here for 18 years, and I've never seen anything like this before.”

Another woman told CP24 she was shocked to wake up and discover the news in her neighbourhood, which she described as generally being friendly.

“They’re very, very nice, all the neighbours, but I don’t remember him,” June Frances Broomer said of her neighbour who was arrested. She called the situation “scary.”

Bortoluss said investigators are appealing to anyone with information about the murder to come forward to speak with police.

She also said that services are available to anyone needing help with domestic violence.

“When it comes down to intimate partner violence, there's no geographical locations. It really affects everywhere and anywhere, and that's why we really want to stress that resources are available,” she said. “And if you do need us, if you do need victim services, all of us are here to provide help.”

Police are asking anyone with information to reach out to investigators.

With files from Melissa Duggan