Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been “randomly targeted.”
The suspect, 30-year-old Sabrina Kauldhar, was taken into custody at a hotel in Burlington at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday.
She has since been charged with one count of second-degree murder in connection with an Oct. 1 homicide in Toronto and two counts of first-degree murder in connection with homicides that took place in Hamilton and Niagara Falls in the days that followed.
“I think by definition she is a serial killer. By definition I think that is a fair comment,” Niagara Regional Police Service Chief Bill Fordy said during a Friday afternoon press conference. “It’s always difficult speculate on what somebody would do. What I can say is that I am very pleased that we were able to bring this to closure in a quick manner. We have three families here that have lost their loved ones and I think when we have somebody who has committed three offences in a real tight timeline like that there is the risk of them committing further offences.”
The first incident involved a woman in her 60s who was found deceased in a home near Keele and Dundas streets in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.
Police say that the second incident occurred in John Allan Park in the City of Niagara Falls the following day.
Officers were called to the park for reports of a disturbance just before 3 p.m. When they arrived they located an adult male with critical injuries. The victim, later identified as 47-year-old Lance Cunningham, was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.
The latest incident occurred in Hamilton at around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
Police say that officers found an unresponsive male in a parking lot on Macnab Street North with “significant injuries consistent with a stabbing.” The victim, who has since been identified as 77-year-old Mario Bilich, was rushed to the hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
Fordy said that Niagara police were able to identify Kauldhar thanks to video footage.
A link to the homicides in Hamilton and Toronto was then established following her arrest, he said.
Police say that they believe Bilich and Cunningham were “randomly targeted” while Kauldhar was known to the Toronto victim in some way.
“Mario Bilich and Lance Cunningham were both going about their business and we believe they were random attacks. We are not aware of any connection between the victims,” Fordy said. “Any time you have a major case like this it is really important to frontload the investigation. Between our respective agencies we have in excess of 100 investigators trying to understand the reasons something like this take place and gather as much evidence as possible.”
The investigation into the homicides remains ongoing.
Fordy said that investigators are currently speaking with “colleagues across the province to confirm if there are other incidents that might be related.”
He said that officers are canvassing for additional video and working to identify a woman who was seen buying clothing from a Giant Tiger in Burlington on Oct. 1 that Kauldhar was in possession of at the time of her arrest.
“We have an interest in identifying her. One to ensure her safety and two to confirm what role, if any, she played in this offence.” Fordy said.
Few details known about accused
At this point few details have been released about the accused.
Fordy said that while she did not reside in Niagara Region, she did have a “interaction” with police in the region in the past.
As for how she may have travelled between the various scenes, Fordy said that too is unclear.
“Our investigators are in the throes of trying to better understand the timeline but we do know it wasn’t uncommon for her to use public transportation whether taxi or bus routes. In this particular case we don’t know the specific means of travelling but we do know she has used those as a means to travel.”