From the Toronto Star:

In the months before she was kidnapped, Raquel Junio had devised a happy plan.

She bought and kept furniture at the Brampton thrift shop where she worked, took the bus to a nearby library after shifts to scour the Internet for apartments and searched for a second job to make extra money.

Coworkers say she was excited about the new home she planned to make for herself and her two children.

Those plans were interrupted last week when the 42-year-old disappeared into the night after witnesses told police she was dragged from her home and forced into a truck.

The people who knew and adored Junio gathered in front of Talize thrift shop on Sunday night for what was supposed to be a vigil of hope and prayer for her safe return. But with news that police found a body that may be hers in a pond 30 kilometres north of her home, the small crowd instead mourned the loss of a dear friend.

Peel Regional Police said an autopsy set for Monday morning could confirm the identity of the body pulled from the Palgrave, Ont., pond and determine the cause of death, though details may not be released immediately.

“She’s not a person you would think this would happen to,” colleague Samantha Salama said through tears.

Salama and other coworkers say Junio was always happy at work.

More than anything, Junio loved her children. As she sorted through new stock at the thrift shop, she would pick out the best toys — Dora dolls, backpacks, a mini shopping cart — to take home for her 3-year-old daughter. She beamed with pride when her son, 14, recently graduated from middle school.

The discovery of a body on Saturday night about 30 kilometres north of Brampton, near Bolton, came hours after police charged a second suspect in the abduction.

Gary Murray, 42, of Brampton, was charged Saturday with kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault. Junio’s estranged husband, Macdermid Ermacora, 43, appeared in court Friday on the same charges. Police said the two men are friends.

Junio’s friends told the Star that she and her husband had been having marital issues.

“She never said anything,” said Ernia Eduria, a cousin who would see Junio at family gatherings three or four times a year. He said his cousin and Ermacora were married four years ago after they met through friends.

Eduria’s wife, Marcy, said when she last saw her husband’s cousin two months ago, Junio asked her for help finding a part-time job.

“I didn’t know anything so I didn’t help her and now I feel so bad,” said Marcy Eduria.

The trouble began at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, when police received complaints about a man dragging a woman out of a Deerfield Cres. home.

Police found Ermacora’s truck about 7 a.m. Thursday in a parking lot adjacent to a hotel near Queen St. E. and Rutherford Rd. in Brampton.

Ermacora was taken into police custody shortly thereafter as police searched for Junio.

As investigators combed Brampton, Caledon and Nottawa, south of Collingwood, a Crown attorney urged Ermacora to tell investigators where his wife was. The accused exercised his right not to speak, police said.

Talize manager Pete Bellis said the store will donate a portion of proceeds from a sale event on Monday to Junio’s children.

“We’re really concerned about her children right now,” he said.

Kera Freeland a 20 year old girl who moved to Toronto from Alberta to work at an escort agency (Cachet Ladies) and went missing mid-January has been identified as the woman whose remains were found in a ditch in Caledon last Thursday. Kera was last seen on Sunday, Jan. 16 in the Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Queens Ave. area. In February, Toronto police issued a missing-person alert for her.

Her remains were found on Marvh 17 around 6 p.m. in a ditch on Heart Lake Rd., between Boston Mills Rd. and Olde Base Line Rd by a man out for a walk. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Constable Peter Leon said a cause of death has yet to be determined. So far, it’s not known whether the death is a homicide, suicide or an accident. “We’re hoping someone might be able to tell us how she got from Toronto to Caledon,” Constable Leon said Monday.

Kera Freeland’s body was found a short distance from where a murdered Orangeville nurse’s body was left last summer, but police are not drawing any links between the two. Sonia Varaschin, 42, was killed in her townhouse in the nearby town of Orangeville last August and found in a woodlout outside town. “At the time, there is no indication linking [Kera Freeland’s] case to any other current OPP investigation,” Constable Leon said.

Kera’s friends suspect she may have been a victim of a “bad date”. Tim Lambrinos, of the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada says, “She called her roommate earlier that night and told her she was having a bad date… she said ‘she was going to leave the date’ and was returning home.”

That was the last time her roomie heard from Freeland until finding out of her death the next day.

Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the case, or who was in contact with Kera Freeland prior to her death, contact the OPP at 905-857-3304.

Some additional News articles about Kera Freeland:

• Globe and Mail
• The Star
• Toronto Sun

In an effort to try to solve the brutal killing of Sonia Varaschin in Orangeville, Ontario from earlier this summer a group of top criminal profilers and investigators gathered to pore over the details and create a working profile of the potential killer who murdered her, similar to the show Criminal Minds on TV. In fact it was the same unit for which the TV show is based on, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Virginia-based behavioural analysis unit which is assisting the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP as well as other senior homicide investigators from several forces including York Region, Toronto and Ottawa.

The killer attacked Sonia Varaschin in her home in Orangeville, either late on Aug. 29 or early on Aug. 30, when her blood-smeared white Toyota Corolla was found, doors open, in an alleyway in downtown Orangeville. “Anybody who enters somebody’s house where you should be safe and kills you, in my view is cold-blooded,” Ontario Provincial Police Det.-Insp. Mark Pritchard said.

He said the killer not only entered Varaschin’s Spring Street home, he moved her body into her vehicle, despite “the close confines of the townhouse complex.” After dumping her body, he then recklessly drove back near the scene of the murder and into town with blood that would have been “clearly visible on the outside of the car.” A week later, on Sept. 5, somebody walking a dog discovered Varaschin’s remains on a rual road in Caledon near Beech Grove Sideroad and Mountainview Road about 12 kilometres from her home.

Police have released few details about how Varaschin died and even refuse to reveal the weapon used. At the news conference nearly four months after her death, very little new fresh evidence was presented. Pritchard defended the investigation, “It’s not a TV show,” he said. “These things take a long time.”

Lead investigators did release a general profile that they created of Varaschin’s killer, hoping it might help them “zero in” on the killer by sparking further tips. In the days after Varaschin’s death or the discovery of her body on Sept. 5, police say the killer may have:

• Increased alcohol or drug use.
• Seemed irritable, agitated or anxious.
• Moved from the area.
• Limited social interactions to avoid detection.
• Had unexplained absences from work, school or missed appointments.
• Displayed other unusual behavior.

The suspect  police say is likely very familiar with the Orangeville area and the gravel Beech Grove Sideroad, near Mountainview Road in Caledon, where Varaschin’s body was dumped. He may know it because of “recreation, occupation or illegal activities.”

Police and investigators have received 460 tips to date on the Varaschin case and conducted more than 500 interviews but say they are still looking for a tidbit that might lead them to the killer. “There’s no tip that isn’t worth the police looking into,” Pritchard said. “And I think the message I’m trying to get out is that no matter how insignificant a suspicion or information is, we want them to come forward and talk to us.”

If you have any information that may help solve this case please call Orangeville Police Service Tip Line at (519) 941-2522, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

From the Toronto Star, here is a follow up to the violent murder in Caledon/Bolton, Ontario of Krystina Armstrong by her own son Luke Armstrong.

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Luke Armstrong thought his mother was the devil, “who had to die for mankind.”

On the night of April 30, 2010, the trouble 18-year-old Caledon high school student repeatedly stabbed Krystina to death while driving his Jetta — and then nearly decapitated her afterwards.

He and his mother were on their way to a local Dairy Queen to meet his father George and his younger sister Hailey after watching her perform at a school play.

On Friday, Justice Bruce Durno accepted Armstrong’s plea of being not criminally responsible to second-degree murder because he was suffering from a profound psychotic mental disorder at the time of the vicious and relentless attack.

The teen was kneeling over his 54-year-old mother’s lifeless body, her seat belt still buckled, when OPP Constable James Shay arrived at what initially appeared to be a minor hit-and-run collision around 9:38 p.m. on Simpson Rd. in Bolton. The officer smelled booze on the teen’s breath and was about to charge him with impaired driving.

Armstrong appeared stunned and was covered in blood when he exited the car.

“Is she dead? She’s the devil…,” Armstrong told the officer. “She tried to stab me. I killed the devil.”

Krystina had been stabbed more than 100 times, including 26 wounds to her face, 12 to the back of her neck, 11 to her chest and five to her abdomen. There were also 13 defensive wounds to her right hand.

Armstrong told Shay and another officer that he killed his mother for “mankind” and that his hand was cut when his mother “took the knife from her head” and cut him with it.

At the hospital, he told Cst Dwayne Smith that he knew what he did was a sin. “I was still driving when I stabbed her,” he said. He said a song written by rap musician Eminem told him to “drown his mother” but he decided to stab her instead.

Two days later in hospital, Armstrong asked if he was speaking to television’s Judge Judy when he was remanded by a justice of the peace.

Court heard how Krystina and George separated in 2007 after 13 years of marriage, partly over parenting issues involving their son’s discipline. Krystina had just moved into a new home on the day of the tragedy.

Armstrong had a history of violent outbursts, once breaking his mother’s finger during in a March 2009 in an argument over his lunch while she was driving.

He was diagnosed with ADHD at 14. Had uncontrollable temper outbursts and had set fires.

School officials called Armstrong’s father in the day of the tragedy saying he was acting strangely and appeared dishevelled.

During a ride with friends, he said he hated women and mumbled “everyone is in danger and “people are going to die.” He also talked about conspiracies and was acting paranoid.

In the days before the tragedy, Armstrong asked his mother if he had been named after Lucifer and if she knew anything about the Illuminati, a rich and power full group that ruled the world.

In accepting his plea, Justice Durno told the court he hoped Armstrong will received the treatment he needs.

The Ontario Review Board will review case and determined when, if ever, he will be released from hospital, Durno said.

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Previous articles:

• Caledon Crash now a Murder Investigation – Update
• Caledon Crash now a Murder Investigation

Sadly Sonia Varaschin who was reported missing after she failed to turn up for work two weeks ago in Orangeville, Ontario was found dead, her remains were found in a wooded area in Caledon near Beech Grove Sideroad and Mountainview Road. Ontario Provincial Police said Tuesday the autopsy on human remains found in southern Ontario Sunday confirmed they were those of a missing nurse.

Homicide investigators have now switched their focus to finding her killer, Ontario Provincial Police told a news conference Wednesday in Orangeville that they are looking for just one person and the suspect is likely a man who wore a Size 10 or 11 work boot.

Mark Pritchard, an OPP detective inspector, said the brand of the boots is either Wind River or Dakota, sold exclusively by Mark’s Work Wearhouse. He asked the public to think back to Aug. 30, when the killer may have come home with unexplained stains on his clothes or boots, adding that he may have thrown out the boots since then.

“We believe that Sonia’s killer is very familiar with Orangeville, with the outskirts of Orangeville, Sonia’s neighbourhood, Sonia’s townhouse — and potentially Sonia herself,” Pritchard said. OPP said earlier they believe the killer used Varaschin’s white Toyota to move her body from her home to the wooded area where it was found.

So far, investigators haven’t revealed the cause of death. Days into the investigation, Varaschin’s family had been told to expect the worst and this weekend their fears were confirmed. The victim’s friends and family are asking for privacy during this time.

Last week, police asked people in rural areas in and around the city to scan their properties for the bloody bed sheets believed to have been used in the crime. Investigators are also asking anyone who saw her white Corolla on Aug. 29 or Aug. 30 to contact them.

If you have an information about the murder of Sonia Varaschin please contact the dedicated tip line at 519-941-2522, ext. 2211. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. A $2,000 reward has been offering for tips leading to a conviction.

Some photos of Sonia Varaschin in happier times, a memorial group has also been setup on Facebook.

Ontario Provincial Police have announced human remains found late last month in Oro-Medonte and Lake of Bays Townships, and in Muskoka belonged to a 45-year-old Bolton/Caledon area man.

Whoever chopped up the body of a Bolton man and scattered it throughout cottage country was likely an amateur and not an underworld figure, a veteran homicide investigator says.

“People who are in stressful situations do strange things,” said Mark Mendelson, a former Toronto police homicide officer who now heads Mark Mendelson Consulting Corp., a private investigation firm.

His comments came after the OPP on Monday identified the body parts found in three regions north of Toronto as belonging to Morris Conte, 45, of Bolton, Ontario. Conte, a father of four and recreational drug user, had low-level ties to bikers and mobsters in York Region. Police have ruled his death a homicide.

OPP spokesman Const. Mark Kenney declined to comment on the cause or time of death, or what pieces of Conte’s body were recovered. He did confirm that Conte’s identity was determined through testing at the downtown Centre for Forensic Sciences.

Remains were found May 22 in Oro-Medonte Township’s Sugar Bush area, north of Barrie. Also that day, pieces of his body were discovered in Lake of Bays Township, east of Huntsville.

On May 28, a construction worker found yet another set of remains northeast of Bracebridge, on the shoulder of Stoneleigh Rd. off Muskoka Road 117. All of the body parts were left in plain view.

Mendelson said mobsters tend to be more efficient at getting rid of bodies of their victims, rather than cutting them into pieces and scattering them in places where they’re sure to be found. “Organized crime people (often) put them into barrels and pour in cement,” said Mendelson.

Mendelson also wonders if perhaps more than one person was involved in the body disposal.

As first reported here, Caledon OPP now say a woman found dead after a minor collision in Caledon was a homicide and the man charged with second-degree murder in her death are mother and son.

Krystina Armstrong 45 years old, was found dead in the passenger side of one of the vehicles involved in the two-car collision on Friday is a victim of homicide and did not die as a result of the crash, police said. The Ontario Provincial Police identified the man behind the wheel of that vehicle as Luke Armstrong, the victim’s 18-year-old son. He was arrested at the scene Friday and remanded into custody on Sunday. He is set to appear in an Orangeville court on Thursday for the continuation of his bail hearing, said Caledon OPP Constable Jonathan Beckett.

“This case is very complex and this investigation will be ongoing for some time to cover off all the details of what happened before, during and after the event,” Constable Beckett said, declining to share specifics since the matter is before the courts.

Police were called to the scene of the minor crash on Simpson Road, at 9:40 p.m. Friday night, he said. “Once our officers arrived on scene, it quickly became apparent we were dealing with a much more serious incident. Quite often when police officers are dispatched to calls for service, sometimes the initial details we’re given do not turn out to be what we end up investigating.”

Josh Stevenson, who knows Mr. Armstrong from high school, was surprised by news of the young man’s arrest. He remembered him as a “pretty good kid,” but also troubled.

And Mr. Armstrong’s relationship with his mother was strained, he said.

“I know was his parents were divorced and that he didn’t see his mom,” Mr. Stevenson, 18, said.

Marital problems had torn apart the family. Krystina Armstrong a former travel agent had been split from her husband, George, for more than a year and had found a home on Rolling Hills Lane in Bolton’s south end, a few kilometres away from her old life.

Luke was to continue living with his father on Old King Rd. His younger sister, Hayley, was moving in with her mother.

Mr. Armstrong began his high school career at Robert F. Hall Secondary School in Caledon, Ont., before transferring to Humberview Secondary School in Bolton where his father, George, lives.

Luke’s Facebook page which was still active as of Monday night.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to contact Det.-Const. Matt Noble at 519-927-3041 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

The Caledon resident was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a “minor collision” on Simpson Rd. on Friday evening, Ontario Provincial Police said in a statement released Sunday night.

Const. Jonathan Beckett would not identify the woman or comment on how she died, except to say it was not as a result of the collision.

Nor would he release the name of the 18-year-old driver who was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder, citing the need to notify the victim’s next-of-kin before any names could be released.

However, a family friend said the victim was Krystina Armstrong and the young man charged with murder as her son, Luke.

Armstrong was legally separated from Luke’s father, George, and was in the process of divorce. She moved into her new home on Station Rd. in Bolton the day she was killed, according to the friend.

Luke, a student at Humberview Secondary School in Bolton, lived with his father, said the friend.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to contact Det.-Const. Matt Noble at 519-927-3041 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.