Top 5 Crime stories of 2021 from Ajax, Oshawa, Clarington, Whitby and Pickering

COVID and Crime, two ‘C’ words we couldn’t escape in 2021.

While we may not want to hear about them, crime stories are a part of living in the city and need to be reported. Without further ado, here are the top 5 crime stories of the year:

Adam Strong sentenced to 25 years without parole

There are many who wished for a stronger sentence for the gas station attendant who killed and dismembered two young woman at his downtown Oshawa apartment ten years apart.

Strong received the life sentence for his first-degree murder conviction in the killing of Rori Hache in 2017. He also received 18 years in prison, to be served concurrently, for his manslaughter conviction in the death of Kandis Fitzpatrick in 2008.

Trio face murder charges after Ajax killing, Oshawa stand-off

An early morning shooting in Ajax and subsequent stand-off in an Oshawa home gripped the region on Remembrance Day with several schools put on lockdown.

Three men were later arrested and charged with murder

Oshawa grandmother murdered

Ruth Humphries, 67, was found dead in her Phillip Murray home in early November by her grandson.

Durham Police declared her death a homicide two days later, the sixth murder of the year in Durham.

Deadly rowhouse fire caused by child

A fire in a rowhouse on Olive Avenue in Oshawa that claimed the lives of four people was started by a child, Durham Police’s Homicide Unit concluded.

The fire broke out in the middle of the night on March 12 and quickly spread. The child, who is under 12, will not be charged.

Ajax men charged with attempted murder in daytime shooting in central Oshawa

A brazen daytime shooting just east of downtown Oshawa in November left a 25 year-old man with serious injuries.

The shooting took place in the middle of a major intersection at Bond Street and Ritson Road. Two suspects – both from Ajax – were charged a week later with attempted murder.

(Dis) honourable Mention:

Denim Henderson convicted of manslaughter in death of toddler

A jury took just two days to decide that Henderson was guilty in the death of his girlfriend’s nine-month-old baby.