Police have arrested a 33-year-old Peterborough man in the shooting death of a 36-year-old Peterborough woman early last Friday morning (June 2).
During a media conference on Thursday afternoon (June 8) near the location of the shooting, Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts also publicly released the name of the victim, Sarah King, although relatives had already released her name publicly earlier in the week when creating a GoFundMe campaign to cover the costs of her funeral.
At 2:20 a.m. last Friday morning, police received a call reporting shots fired in the area of Wolfe and Aylmer streets in the vicinity of the homeless tent encampment. Upon arrival, officers found King suffering from “multiple gunshots.”
King, a mother of two young children, was rushed to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre where she died from her injuries. Police said she was not a resident of the homeless tent encampment.
Chief Betts, who had pledged an “all hands on deck” investigation into the homicide at a media conference last Friday, said officers from the Investigative Services Division and the Emergency Response Team arrested 33-year-old Jonathan Murphy of Peterborough at around 11:50 a.m. on Thursday morning. There was a heavy police presence in the Braidwood Avenue and Jane Street area.
Betts said King’s family had been made aware of the arrest.
“The Peterborough Police Service would like to recognize the hard work and many hours our detectives have put in to locating the suspect, and gathering and validating evidence which culminated in the arrest today,” Betts said. “The service would also like to thank the many community members who took the time to reach out with information and video, which made it possible to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion so quickly.”
Along with a charge of first degree murder, Murphy faces 16 other charges: discharge of a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm with intent, use of a firearm while committing an offence, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, two counts of uttering threats to cause death, two counts of possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order, four counts of failure to comply with release order, two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking (fentanyl and cocaine), and possession of the proceeds of crime under $5,000.
The accused man was bound by two prohibition orders prohibiting him from possessing a firearm, a restricted weapon, ammunition, or explosive device for life. He was also bound by a release order with the following conditions: to remain with his surety in Etobicoke, notify police of an address change, remain in his residence at all times (except in the presence of his surety), and to not possess any weapons as defined by the Criminal Code.
Murphy is being held in custody for a bail hearing, expected on Friday (June 9).
Police say they are not looking for any other suspects in King’s homicide, but are continuing to gather evidence.
“At this time, we believe this was not a random incident, but cannot go into further detail as the case is now before the courts,” Betts said.
