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An 84-year-old woman who died in a Toronto house fire was the victim of a “cowardly and deplorable” arson, a Toronto police detective says.
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“We have determined that this is an arson investigation with a criminal element, so we are treating this as a homicide,” said Detective Sgt. Trevor Grieve on Monday.
“A senseless act”
“To be frank, it was a tragic and senseless act,” he added. “It's really cowardly and deplorable things that come to mind. This woman was home alone and we're going to do everything we can to find the person responsible. I think it's too early to talk about a motive.”
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Police said the suspect set Balestrieri's home on fire while the elder was alone inside at the time.
elderly womanwho lived alone, was found by firefighters on the second floor of the house and taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.
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The cops have video
An autopsy revealed that she died from the fire and had no previous injuries.
One important clue was found in a video obtained by police.
“This video shows a lone suspect approaching a home Saturday evening,” Grieve said.
“They are observed moving down towards the side of the house. There is then an explosion and fire and the suspect flees the scene shortly thereafter.”
Grieve said the suspect's video will not be released because “it is not of sufficient quality at this time to release anything that will assist our investigation. The suspect is simply wearing dark clothing.”
INVESTIGATORS ON SITE
The Ontario Fire Marshal and Toronto Fire investigators are participating in the investigation.
“I expect they will be here within the next few days as they complete their investigation and forensic examination along with our forensic identification services,” Grieve said.
Enbridge Gas also responded to the scene to help shut off gas supplies.
He said homicide investigators are knocking on doors and getting help from area residents looking for witnesses or new videos.
This is Toronto's 36th homicide of 2025.
“I would like to express our deepest condolences to her family as she has relatives traveling to Toronto from outside the GTA,” Grieve said.
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