Nearly eight months after a London nurse was gunned down in the driveway of her northwest-end home, an 18-year-old has been charged in her murder.
Police announced on Wednesday that Ammar Patel of the Greater Toronto Area is charged with first degree murder in the death of Lynda Marques. Patel has been in police custody since being arrested on an unrelated matter in the GTA November 17. He was scheduled to appear in London court in relation to the first degree murder charge on Wednesday afternoon.
Marques had just pulled into the driveway of her home on Wateroak Drive around 7:50 p.m. on September 10 when she was ambushed by two individuals and fatally shot. The pair took off from the area in a black Volkswagen Jetta. Police believe the shooters had come to London from the Greater Toronto Area the day before the shooting and left the city immediately following the 30-year-old nurse's killing.
The getaway vehicle was found abandoned five days later on Meadowlily Road South near Commissioners Road East. London police determined the vehicle had been stolen from Bluffers Park and Beach in Scarborough on September 5. The vehicle has since undergone extensive forensic examination and analysis of evidence gathered is ongoing, police said.
In the months that followed Marques' murder, police released photos of two suspects captured on video surveillance from the scene. The suspects, both wearing dark coloured hoodies and face masks, can be seen with weapons drawn running onto the property. A second photo of a man wearing a blue tracksuit, who police believe has information about the murder, was also released.
Acting Detective Inspector Alex Krygsman. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn Media)
"The charge against Patel is not the end of this investigation. As you can see from information we have provided to you in the past multiple persons were involved in Lynda's murder and there is more work to do," Acting Detective Inspector Alex Krygsman said during a news conference held at London Police Headquarters on Wednesday.
He declined to comment on whether Patel is one of the two individuals who pulled the actual trigger in the nurse's shooting, stating simply "we believe he is involved in Lynda's murder."
The man in the blue tracksuit has been identified, but so far police have been unable to locate him, Krygsman said.
He added that police continue to probe why Marques was targeted. However, he would not confirm whether the drug trade played a role in the murder.
Marques's partner, with whom she shared an infant son, was arrested in January following a traffic stop on Wonderland Road. Two loaded handguns and a quantity of drugs were seized during that investigation. Ali Bhatti, 28, was charged with 14 offences including possession of drugs and possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm.
Family of Marques were notified Wednesday morning about the arrest and first degree murder charge.
"They expressed gratitude for the work of the police. We assured them that in spite of this arrest and this charge this investigation is not over," said Krygsman. "We continue to appeal for further information about this case. We firmly believe that there are others out there who have knowledge of the details of Lynda's murder."
Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).