A woman has been arrested and charged with aiding a murder suspect in Brampton, Ontario, following an incident that triggered an Amber Alert. The suspect, Anthony Deschepper, 38, who fled the scene with his one-year-old daughter, was set to face firearm charges in the upcoming year.
Peel Regional Police disclosed that the 36-year-old woman, with connections to Brampton and Niagara Falls, was found with Deschepper and is believed to be his current or former girlfriend. The woman was apprehended at a gas station in Niagara Falls, where Deschepper was shot dead by a Niagara Regional Police officer.
Deschepper, who was also facing firearm-related charges stemming from a previous incident involving the same woman who was recently killed in Brampton, had consistently denied the allegations and planned to challenge them in court, according to criminal defense lawyer Andrew Edgar.
The victim, identified as Savannah Kulla, 29, was fatally shot in a plaza parking lot in Brampton. Deschepper fled the scene with his child in a Nissan Kicks but later dropped off the child safely with relatives. He was later found with the woman in a Chevrolet before being killed by the police following an interaction.
Advocates emphasize the need for more preventative measures against femicide, with the federal government introducing changes to the justice system to keep dangerous offenders incarcerated for longer periods. However, advocates argue that more should have been done to protect Kulla outside of the legal system given the warning signs present.
Rebecca Pacheco, from the Embrave Agency to End Violence, expressed heartbreak over the tragic incident, labeling femicide as an epidemic. She highlighted the systemic nature of gender-based violence and the strain on community support and services, underscoring the urgency to address the capacity and funding gaps in the system.
Nneka MacGregor, co-founder of the Women’s Centre for Social Justice, stressed the preventable nature of femicide, citing known risk factors that could have averted the tragedy. She emphasized the heightened risks faced by women in abusive relationships and the importance of early intervention and protection measures.