Police are calling a Toronto woman a “serial killer” and charging her with three murders in Ontario in three days

Ontario’s police chief says a Toronto woman arrested by his force and charged with three murders in three days could be considered a “serial killer” after apparently unrelated deaths were reported in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton.

On Friday, three Ontario police forces announced they had charged a 30-year-old Toronto woman with murder after the bodies of two men and a woman were found in different cities within three days.

All police officers in three southern Ontario cities have been investigating the homicides over the past three days, leading them to believe the same Toronto woman may be behind the three killings.

“I think by definition she is a serial killer who has committed two or more crimes,” Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy told reporters Friday.

The woman was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.

Niagara and Hamilton police have filed first-degree murder charges in connection with slayings they say were random, while Toronto police homicide detectives are charging the same woman with second-degree murder of someone they say she knows.

The first incident occurred in Toronto, near Keele and Dundas streets, just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1. Police said they found a still unidentified woman dead in the house with signs of injuries on her body.

Police say they were called to John Allan Park in Niagara Falls just before 3 p.m. the next day after reports of a disturbance. The officers found a seriously injured man who, despite the efforts of the rescue services, died on the spot.

Then, on Thursday, October 3, Hamilton police rushed to a parking lot on MacNab Street North, where they found an unconscious man who had been stabbed. Police said he was taken to hospital, where he died.

Investigators working with Toronto police said Toronto investigators determined the Toronto victim was known to the woman, while the other two deaths were ruled “random targeting.”

Global News has learned that the accused was the roommate of the murdered Toronto woman.

Toronto police said detectives were able to “link a homicide” in Hamilton to a death in Niagara Falls.

“Additional connection to ongoing homicide investigation ongoing on October 1 in Toronto,” police said.

The accused was identified as Sabrina Kauldhar, a 30-year-old woman from Toronto. She faces second-degree murder charges in Toronto and first-degree murder charges from Niagara Regional Police and Hamilton police.

She is in the custody of Niagara Regional Police and was arrested in Burlington, Ontario.

Police said while the woman who died in Toronto may have been known to Kauldhar, they are working to assume the other two attacks were accidental.

The Niagara Falls victim was identified as 47-year-old Lance Cunningham and the Hamilton stabbing victim was identified as 77-year-old Mario Bilich.

“Mario and Lance Cunningham were minding their own business and we believe these were random attacks,” Chief Fordy said.

“We are not aware of any connection between the victims and we do not know the motive at this time.”

Police stressed that the investigation was at an early stage but said they had not found a motive behind the two attacks and they are now considered accidental.

“This remains an investigation by homicide detectives; “are still determining the timeline of events,” Toronto police said.

Friends and family confirmed that Bilich, 77, of Hamilton, was a retired teacher.

Calogero Milazzo, a friend of Bilich, said he was shocked.

“He was a former high school teacher, he knew many languages, he was brilliant,” he told Global News. “Friendly guy, carefree, five kids, everything.”

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In a Facebook post, Bilich’s daughter wrote that her father died in a “senseless stabbing” in the city.

“Please pray for us, his children, in-laws, grandchildren, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews here in Canada, and for his many loved ones in Italy, Croatia and France,” she wrote in her post.

Asked if he feared the death might have continued had Kauldhar not been arrested, Chief Fordy said it was anyone’s guess.

“It’s always difficult to speculate on what someone would do,” he said.

“I can say that I am very pleased that we were able to conclude this matter quickly. We have three families who have lost loved ones and I believe that if someone has committed three crimes in a time like this, there is a risk of them committing further crimes.”

Chief Fordy said investigators used video footage to identify Kauldhar before she was ultimately arrested just before 6pm on Thursday.

He said Kauldhar arrived Thursday at a location investigators were securing in Burlington, where she was taken into custody. Fordy said the location of the arrest was a hotel but would not comment on whether she was staying there.

Officers expressed particular concern about anyone who may have seen Kauldhar between October 1 and her arrest just before 6pm on October 3, asking anyone with information to contact them.

“Our investigators are trying very hard to better understand the timeline,” Fordy said.

Police are also looking for a woman who was seen at the Giant Tiger store in Burlington buying clothes that Kauldhar had at the time of his arrest.

Kauldhar appeared in court on Friday.

— with files from Global News’ Catherine McDonald