Northern Ont. man, 18, charged with attempted murder in attack on ex-girlfriend

**WARNING - This article contains graphic details of intimate partner violence and may be upsetting to some readers

An 18-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in the Temiskaming Shores area of northern Ontario following an attack on a 16-year-old female, police say.

Crime scene at intersection of Upper Helen Street & Prospect Avenue in Cobalt. November 3, 2024 (Jessica Rhame)

Officers were called to the scene of a crash at the intersection of Upper Helen Street and Prospect Avenue in Cobalt around 6 p.m. Nov. 3, Ontario Provincial Police said in a news release late Tuesday morning.

"The investigation revealed that an altercation occurred between an 18-year-old male and a 16-year-old female, who suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital, where she remains," OPP said.

A neighbour -- who didn't want to be named and lives near where the attack took place -- told CTV News journalist Eric Taschner on Tuesday the victim had just gotten off the bus and was walking home when she was rammed into a pile of rocks by the suspect in his vehicle.

When the neighbour and his wife heard screaming outside, they went to help, saying the suspect had also attacked the teen girl with a sharp weapon before getting back into his vehicle and speeding off.

The couple administered CPR until paramedics arrived and later found a part of her arm that had been severed, the man said.

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Photos from the scene in Cobalt showed a transit bus inside a portion of Prospect Avenue closed off by police tape.

Portion of Prospect Avenue in Cobalt at Upper Helen Street is cordoned off by police after incident Sunday night. November 3, 2024.

Police arrested the man, who turned 18 on Jan. 29, Sunday evening in Haileybury in the area of Algonquin Drive – more than seven kilometres away.

In addition to attempted murder, he is also charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaching a conditional sentence order, OPP said.

A conditional sentence order requires a convicted person to follow rules established by the court and can include house arrest, no-contact orders, refraining from possessing a firearm or other weapon and/or observing a curfew.

Intimate partner violence

Several sources told CTV News the accused is the victim's ex-boyfriend.

"This is a tricky situation where our focus is to protect the identity of the victim by not releasing the name of the accused," OPP Const. Marty Thibault told CTV News in an email Monday.

• READ: Why people stay in abusive relationships

Pavilion Women's Centre in Haileybury is marking November as 'Woman Abuse Prevention Month' and according to Statistics Canada, one in three women in Canada has experienced some form of intimate partner violence.

 

"We feel in a small town that we're protected from things like this," Melanie Ducharme, the shelter's executive director, told Taschner.

"And what we're seeing is that rural and northern communities are not protected. We need resources."

Support for the victim and her family 

An online fundraising campaign was started Monday to support the victim's recovery and help her family.

 CTV News usually does not name victims of crimes unless they come forward and consent.

However, we are also choosing not to name the accused in this case due to the age of the victim and out of an abundance of caution in order to protect her identity.

In 15 hours, it raised more than $30,000 -- the highest trending campaign on the online fundraising platform.

The platform told CTV News in an email Tuesday that it banned a fraudulent copycat fundraiser from the site.

"We have a team of experts working around the clock to review fundraisers and prevent misuse," the spokesperson said.

"We’ve also put systems in place allowing anyone to report a fundraiser at any time if they have concerns, and our team then promptly (reviews)."

Verified fundraisers indicate who the organizer is, who/what they’re raising funds for, the organizer’s relationship to the recipient of funds and how the funds will be used.

The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 12 in Haileybury.

"The Temiskaming OPP Crime Unit is continuing the investigation under the direction of the OPP criminal investigation branch," OPP said.

"Anyone with any information relating to this investigation is asked to call the Temiskaming OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000."

Help is available

Confidential and free support is available for people experiencing violence. In an emergency, call 911.

• Assaulted Women's Helpline 1-866-863-0511
• Fem'aide Helpline 1-877-336-2433
• Talk4Healing for Indigenous women 1-855-554-4325
• National Domestic Violence Hotline