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The deaths of an elderly husband and wife found fatally shot outside of a long-term healthcare facility in Scarborough last week have been deemed a murder-suicide.
Toronto police say it’s believed Karen Swatogor, 72, who was a patient at Providence Healthcare, was killed by her husband who then took his own life in the facility’s parking lot.
Officers responded to a shooting call at Providence Healthcare – a seniors’ hospital and long-term care facility at Warden Ave. and St. Clair Ave. E. – around 12:30 p.m. last Monday.
“It is alleged that two individuals, a man and a woman, were located with gunshot wounds,” police said in a statement released Friday, explaining “life-saving measures were performed” but the married man and woman were both pronounced dead on scene.
“The female was the patient at the hospital,” Insp. Scott Shutt told reporters at a news conference held Monday afternoon. “Obviously, it’s a very traumatic incident for the family members involved.”
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Firearm found at the scene
At the time, police said officers recovered a firearm at the scene and there was no outstanding suspect nor was there any risk to public safety.
Investigators have now identified the dead woman as Karen Swatogor, 72, of Toronto. She is the city’s 26th homicide victim of the year.
The name and age of the dead man have not been released.
“The second deceased is believed to be responsible for the homicide,” police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan said Saturday. “As he is deceased and no criminal charges can be laid, we are not identifying him.”
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to call the Homicide unit at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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