18-year-old charged with 1st-degree murder of teen's stabbing death

A court sketch of 18-year-old Ibrahim Ocal, drawn on May 8, 2024. Ocal has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Ellis Smith. (Laurie Foster-MacLeod - image credit)
A court sketch of 18-year-old Ibrahim Ocal, drawn on May 8, 2024. Ocal has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Ellis Smith. (Laurie Foster-MacLeod - image credit)

Ottawa police say they've laid a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a high school student last week.

On May 2, police were called to the 100 block of Constellation Drive in Nepean at around noon and found a teen in critical condition. The 15-year-old, identified by police Tuesday as Ellis Smith, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Over the weekend, a spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said the victim, who had attended nearby Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School, had died.

In an update on Tuesday evening, police said 18-year-old Ibrahim Ocal of Ottawa has been charged with first-degree murder, after originally being charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

Police had previously not disclosed Ocal's name nor the charges he was facing.

Ocal is appeared briefly in court Wednesday.

Police scene at a scene of a stabbing near the Centre Mary Pitt Centre at 100 Constellation Drive in Ottawa on May 2, 2024.
Police scene at a scene of a stabbing near the Centre Mary Pitt Centre at 100 Constellation Drive in Ottawa on May 2, 2024.

Police are seen at the scene of the May 2 stabbing near the Mary Pitt Centre. (Safiyah Marhnouj/CBC)