Infant among 3 found dead at Richmond Hill home in suspected case of intimate partner violence
Police say a five-month-old infant was among three people found dead in a Richmond Hill home earlier this month in what investigators believe was a case of intimate partner violence.
In a news release Thursday, York police said the child was discovered in the home on MacKay Drive along with a 41-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman.
Police said the families of the deceased have asked that their names not be released publicly.
"Post-mortem examinations have been completed but investigators will not be releasing the causes of death at this time," the release continued.
Officers were sent to the home at about 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 1 to do a wellness check, police previously said. That is when they found the three bodies.
Multiple neighbours told CBC Toronto at the time that a family of three, including a baby, had been living in the basement of the house while another family lived on the main floor.
Investigators are urging anyone with potentially valuable information about the case to contact York police.
Local RN says intimate partner violence increasing
Trevi Brown, a registered nurse and manager at the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Care Centre of York Region says the centre has seen a recent uptick in cases of intimate partner violence. The centre has seen 329 patients related to intimate partner violence so far this year, compared to 280 at this time last year, she says.
Brown says pandemic isolation and economic stressors may have contributed to the increase and encourages victims in the region to access her centre's resources. She says people dealing with intimate partner violence in the York Region can go straight to the emergency department at either Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital or Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital.
"We provide care 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she said. "You can see a nurse in the emergency department who will call our Domestic (Abuse) Sexual Assault Team and be seen very quickly."
