A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of an 84-year-old woman in a house fire in the Annex last month.
The two-alarm blaze broke out at home on Boswell Avenue in the Avenue Road and Davenport Road area around 11 p.m. on November 15.
Firefighters found a woman on the second floor of the home with no vital signs. She was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The woman has been identified as Giovanna Balestrieri, 84, of Toronto. She lived in the home by herself, and no one else was there at the time of the fire.
Police said while the woman’s death was attributed to the fire, the case was being treated as a homicide after it was determined that the blaze was deliberately set. Video footage showed a lone suspect approaching the house before an explosion. He is then seen fleeing the scene.
“This was a tragic and senseless act. In fact, cowardly and deplorable comes to mind,” Det. Sgt. Grieve said at the time of the incident.
Following an investigation, police arrested Curtis Leander McLeod, 34, of Toronto and charged him with first-degree murder.
It’s unknown at this time if the victim and the suspect are known to each other or if this was a random act.
Rabbi Meir Dubrawsky with the Yorkville Jewish Centre, which is on the same street as the victim’s home, said he often saw Balestrieri while walking in the area, adding she was bubbly and full of life.
“It’s really hard to hear, really upsetting,” said Rabbi Dubrawsky. He commented that Boswell is a very quiet street and hoped it would remain the safe block it has always been.
“Your home is somewhere you want to feel protected, safe and comfortable … I absolutely love to call this place our home and this street our home, and I don’t want anything to ever change said.”
The Yorkville Jewish Centre provided police with the security footage where the suspect was spotted.
Files from Meredith Bond were used in this report
