Residents of a Newmarket seniors apartment complex were left feeling shaken after a murder in their building last weekend.
York Regional Police were called for a welfare check at the Founders Place at 540 Timothy St. on Sept. 2 at 8:50 a.m. They found a man had been stabbed in an apartment on the sixth floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Philip Rulli, 56, of no fixed address, is charged with second-degree murder. The Office of the Chief Coroner has identified the victim as Dennis Sweet, 66, of Newmarket. The accused and the victim were known to each other, police say.
“I’m 80 years old,” said Susan Whittock, a resident on the sixth floor. “Never in my whole life would I have thought a murder would happen two doors down.”
Whittock was watching a series on Netflix on her TV when she heard a ruckus on her floor at around 10 p.m. on Sept. 1. She turned down the volume and heard a dispute between two men. Despite that, she soon went to sleep.
The next morning when she left her apartment to walk her dog, she saw blood splattered on the walls and elevator. She knocked on the door of her neighbour, Beverley Abernethy, to talk about what had happened.
“I was sound asleep, woke up and the dog started barking like crazy,” said Abernethy. “I went to the door, looked out the little peephole, and didn’t see anything. I heard a woman’s voice and then after that, it was like furniture being thrown all around the apartment, but the door was never open, so you couldn’t see anything.”
The incident marks the second homicide in Newmarket after Blake Bibby, 36, died in hospital after police found him with stab wounds outside an apartment complex on Millard Avenue at Main Street South earlier this summer. Mckenzie Gill, 30, of Toronto was charged with second-degree murder in connection to his death.
Residents at an apartment complex at 22 Main St., located beside the house at 415 Simcoe St., were also shaken after they noticed heavy police presence there. The activity there was linked to the homicide at Founders Place, police say.
Violent crime is on the rise across York Region, police say. According to the community safety portal, there have been 770 assaults, 51 sexual violations, 40 weapons violations, 11 firearm violations and two attempted murders in the past year. That does not include motor vehicle thefts and robberies which can become violent.
At the force's news conference on Aug. 27, police said there has been a sharp increase in violent crimes this year. At the time, police said there have been 15 homicides in York Region, nearly double the eight that occurred that time this year. Five of those homicides have occurred since July 25.
Whittock went back to her apartment after speaking with Abernethy, wondering what to do. Police then arrived on her floor, banging on the door of apartment 607. Whittock opened her door, and police told her to get back inside.
“There were police everywhere, tape across the elevator, tape all around the building,” said Whittock. “Police galore, cop cars galore. It was like a movie. Men in their white suits going in. I couldn’t understand for the life of me and we all were watching.”
Tenants in the building received a letter from Housing York Inc., which operates the building, that stated it would not share any personal information about the situation or individual and that the safety and well-being of residents is a top priority.
Bernia Antler, who lives on the fourth floor, said there is a lack of security in the building. Whittock and Abernethy agreed.
“If we had somebody here, like a security guard or somebody in the place, we wouldn’t be shivering or shaking now,” said Antler.
Whittock said there should at least be cameras in the hallways or outside the building.
“If there was a camera outside my door, by the window, they could see who gets on and off the elevator,” said Whittock.
Abernethy spoke with the building manager in the past to enhance security measures, such as cameras in the hallways or outside the building. She was told it would intrude on people’s privacy.
“I said better to intrude on someone’s privacy than this happens, where somebody gets killed,” said Abernethy. “We’re 60 to 70 years old, what privacy do we need?”
