Man accused of 'extremely violent' slaying was out on bail
Toronto police say a man charged in the death of a woman who was stabbed and set on fire was out on bail on domestic violence-related charges at the time of her killing.
Toronto Police Service spoke out Monday pleading for the public’s help in the investigation of the city’s third homicide of the year in Etobicoke where Bridget Takyi, 27, was stabbed to death and set on fire
Police Det. Sgt. Brian Borg of the homicide unit asked residents to help with any information related to the homicide or the accused — who was out on bail on domestic violence-related charges.
A 30-year-old Toronto man, Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, has been charged with first degree murder in what police call the "extremely violent" death, which occurred early Saturday morning.
The accused confronted the Takyi around 4 a.m. beside her car on Richgrove Drive near Weston Road as she was on her way to work, Borg said. The confrontation ended in multiple stab wounds and Takyi being doused with a fire accelerant and set on fire.
“The intensity of that fire has virtually left her body unrecognizable,” said Borg.
The official cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries to the body.
Borg said that the accused had been charged late last year with assaulting and threatening the victim. He was released on bail and was under house arrest.
Prior to his most recent arrest, the accused was charged with:
Three counts of assault.
Two counts of assault with a weapon.
Possession of weapons dangerous to the public peace.
One count of threatening death.
According to police, all of Owusu-Ansah's charges relate to the alleged victim.
Owusu-Ansah was arrested at a Mississauga, Ont., gas station on Saturday, just hours after the woman's death, Borg said, adding that he appeared in court Sunday and was remanded in custody. He's due back in court Tuesday morning.
"Needless to say, at the time that this homicide was committed, the accused was in breach of numerous conditions of his court-ordered release," said Borg.
Borg showed slides with a gas canister, gloves, a box containing a knife, and a gas-can label. Police are seeking any information on how and where the accused might have acquired these items.
“Even though a person has been arrested for this murder, and that was very shortly after it occurred, by no means is this investigation concluded,” said Borg.
Police have asked that anyone with any information on the accused, the homicide or any of the evidence displayed, to contact the homicide squad: 416-808-7400.
