Canada- Kathleen Hatcher, 69, homicide, King's Mill Park, Etobicoke, 26 Feb. 2021 *Arrest*

[dotr]

Police are looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman at an Etobicoke park on Feb. 26, 2021. (Chopper 24)
Death of woman in Etobicoke park being investigated as homicide
''The death of a woman who was found with significant injuries at a park in Etobicoke Friday morning is being investigated as a homicide.

Police were initially called to King's Mill Park just before 11 a.m. after a woman called them for help because "she was in crisis."

Duty Insp. Andy Singh said when officers arrived, they found a woman in her 60s without vital signs and was pronounced dead.''

''Singh believes the incident occurred between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. when the woman was walking in one of the trails.

"We're still investigating what the possible motive of this could have been whether the perpetrator had any relationship to the victim," Singh said.''

''Singh is appealing to anyone who was at the park at the time of the incident to contact them.

"What I asked for is as people were walking through the park, that if they saw anybody, whether they heard cries for help or if they saw somebody that didn't fit into the park here, to get in touch with us we need that information."
rbbm.

 

[dotr]

Feb 27 2021
Woman in her 60s slain in Etobicoke park in broad daylight | Toronto Sun
''A woman in her 60s was found slain in an Etobicoke park in broad daylight Friday after calling 911 for “help.”

Toronto Police say 22 Division officers responded to the “distress” call around 10:45 a.m. and located the lifeless victim in King’s Mill Park — near Bloor St. W. and Jane St.''
“She was looking for help, she was looking for assistance from the police because she was in crisis,” Insp. Andy Singh told reporters at the scene Friday night, unable to offer further details of the woman’s 911 call.''

''Singh said the woman was found on a trail and it’s believed she had been on foot within the park when she was killed.

“She was suffering from significant injuries,” he said, explaining the woman had no vital signs when officers found her and she was pronounced dead soon after.''

 

[Sillybilly]

By the time I read the article it was too late for me to call Ontario. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it is not the lady who walks my relatives two dogs in the park area every morning. Whoever this poor lady is, what a horrible tragedy, and to think the perp is at large must be very scary for the locals.

 

[dotr]

rbbm
Woman dies after calling 9-1-1 from King's Mill Park, police treating death as homicide - CityNews Toronto
''Police are still investigating a possible motive and don’t know how many suspects they be looking for or a description.

Anyone who may have been in the park between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Friday or may have seen something suspicious is asked to contact police.''

Police are investigating the death of a woman in King's Mill Park as a homicide. CITYNEWS/Ken Townsend
rbbm.
Death of woman in Etobicoke park being investigated as homicide
"At this time, I'm not going to comment on the mechanism of the injuries. But once we've had an opportunity with autopsies, that will be forthcoming," he said.''

"We're still investigating what the possible motive of this could have been whether the perpetrator had any relationship to the victim," Singh said.''

''Singh said they don't have any suspect information at this time.
When asked about a vehicle towed by a police tow truck from the scene, Singh noted that it is related to the investigation but did not provide specifics.''

''A further search will be conducted Saturday morning''.

"What I asked for is as people were walking through the park, that if they saw anybody, whether they heard cries for help or if they saw somebody that didn't fit into the park here, to get in touch with us we need that information."

 

[dotr]

Woman in her 60s slain in Etobicoke park in broad daylight | Toronto Sun

Kathleen Hatcher, 69, of Toronto, was found slain in King's Mill Park in Etobicoke after calling 911 for help on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Photo by Handout /Toronto Police

Toronto Police Service :: News Release #49333
''Case #: 2021-363118
The Toronto Police Service would like to make the public aware of a homicide investigation.

On Friday, February 26, 2021, at 10:44 a.m., police responded to a radio call for a See Ambulance in the King's Mill Park Trail area.

It is reported that:

- a woman called emergency services for assistance

- officers located a woman in the park with significant injuries

- she was pronounced deceased

The woman has been identified as Kathleen Hatcher, 69, of Toronto.

A post mortem is scheduled to take place today (Saturday, February 27, 2021).

This is an active investigation and police remain in the area carrying out inquiries to establish the full circumstances.

Anyone who may have seen the Kathleen Hatcher, or heard or witnessed anything suspicious, is urged to contact Homicide detectives. Even the smallest amount of information could be vital to the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes or Google Play.''

 

[Sillybilly]

Message (paraphrased / redacted) from my relative early this morning. This is to summarize what they have said.

Helicopter been flying up and down the river all day. Our next-door neighbour on ********** (name of street redacted) said the police had gone off the path right at the end of the road where our house was, parked in front of his place yesterday morning. Looks like they were looking for someone. Hope they tell us fairly soon if they know what happened. I just saw the CTV news vehicle come and park just a few minutes ago just 8 AM here they have everything taped off so no cars can go in to that area. **** said over at ********** (name of street redacted) is all taped off. ****** (redacted name of dogwalker) never takes them down there because of the coyotes. There is a homeless man that has a shelter down there. I hope it had nothing to do with him. First of all we thought maybe it was him until they said it was a woman.

I won't give specifics on where police are looking, but IMO it would seem they are looking for someone on foot.

(OT: I am familiar with the homeless man. I sat on a bench, left my sunglasses and when I went back for them, they were gone. Next day I was on the same bench. The homeless man passed by me and was sporting my sunglasses, LOL). Ah well, finders keepers, and he needed them more than me )

 

[Sillybilly]

The part I bolded is a short distance from where the actual crime occurred but they would had to have crossed the bridge to the north side of the river. From what I can gather, that area is taped off directly in front of the house my relative sold recently, a very quiet street with heavily wooded back yards. (Same relative now just lives on the south side of the river adjacent to the parking lot at the south entrance to the park where the CTV truck went this morning.)

 

[Sillybilly]

Kathleen Boyle Hatcher FB

 

[Filly]

My sympathies. This poor woman. So distinguished and obviously vivacious. Can you not even go out for fresh air in this world?

@Sillybilly I am glad your friends are safe. I am sorry this happened at a place you are fond of. Ummmm, your sunglasses? Yep, he needed them more. I wonder what the homeless man saw or heard?

 

[Sillybilly]

My relative lives in a condo overlooking the scene, so I now have a better idea of where this happened. I was thinking it was on the other side, but it is actually nearer the Old Mill subway station, underneath the subway station bridge .. the blue car was towed from one of the two parking lots we see where the Toronto Adventures Humber River tag shows on the map. All the neighbours are very aware and one of them who was walking the trail reported having seen blood.

As I am on phone with relative ..

Son arrested, charged with murder

Arrest made in death of woman, 69, found with ‘significant injuries’ in Toronto park

Son, 37, of woman found injured in King's Mill Park charged with her murder

 

[dotr]

Woman found dead in King's Mill Park had profound love of Ireland | Toronto Sun
''Kathleen Hatcher is being remembered by a friend as a worldly woman who was about to restart her life.

The friend in her 60s, who spoke on the condition on anonymity, said she first met Hatcher while in line at a Toronto International Film Festival movie outside Roy Thomson Hall in 2016. The pair bonded over their similarities in age, their divorces and their love of their children and Ireland.''

''The friend said Hatcher had recently moved to an apartment in the nearby Old Mill area and would show on her social media accounts, the view she had from her condo.

“She just loved being outdoors in nature and travelling,” she said. “This is such a shock, so tragic.”

Hatcher was a long-standing member Etobicoke Quilters’ Guild, where she taught members to hone their craft in workshops''

 

[dotr]

‘As a mother, friend and human being she set the bar really high,’ friends say of Kathleen Hatcher
''For Kathleen Hatcher, writing sometimes seemed like a form of therapy, a way of working through struggles she faced with her one of her three children, Colin.

“He did have some very serious emotional challenges that Kathleen was very well aware of and very involved in,” said Kim McCutcheon, who met her friend through a close-knit writing community in Durham Region five years ago. “She was very active in trying to help him and support him in what he was going through at any given time.”


''Phillip Shon, a criminology professor at Ontario Tech University who researches parricides — the term used for the killing of a parent or a step-parent — said overall they are rare, making up only 2 per cent of homicides in North America.

In cases where adult sons kill their mothers, there are two features that commonly emerge, he said. One is a history of mental illness, typically one that is well-documented. Alternatively, there could be a history of domestic conflict, particularly if they live together. Those cases can share similarities with murders committed by a current or past intimate partner, Shon said.

Khan suggests looking at these cases systematically, just as intimate partner murders are examined.''

 

[dotr]

Toronto man accused of mother’s murder threatened family before
''Hatcher’s son, 37-year-old Colin Hatcher, was charged with second-degree murder and remains in custody.

“I would hope that there was an inquest. We’re talking about someone with a mental illness. He had a break. The system, the hospital, the doctors, knew he had a break and he had named his mother as a target and she was never supposed to see him again,” said Whelehan, referring to an incident about three years ago involved her friend.''

''She said Kathleen told her that while driving her adult son home from a fishing trip to Niagara Falls, Colin told her that they had to go back. Whelehan recalled Kathleen telling her that Colin said, “I was supposed to meet a guy there and we were going to kill you.”

''Court documents obtained by Global News showed that in March 2018, Colin entered into a peace bond, agreeing to keep the peace, after making a threat to his father Tom Hatcher and his father’s girlfriend. Two months later, the peace bond was withdrawn.''

 

[Sillybilly]

Toronto man accused of mother’s murder threatened family before

[...]

She said Kathleen told her that while driving her adult son home from a fishing trip to Niagara Falls, Colin told her that they had to go back. Whelehan recalled Kathleen telling her that Colin said, “I was supposed to meet a guy there and we were going to kill you.”

From there, the two drove home to Toronto where Whelehan said Kathleen called police about Colin. She said Kathleen told her he was taken to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, but weeks later he was back out in the community.

[...]