A woman has died and a man has been charged with second degree murder in a femicide investigation. “Uniform officers were called to an address on Shelton Road last night around 6:30 p.m. in response to a violent incident,” said Micah Bourdeau with London Police Services. Bourdeau said they located an adult female with life threatening injuries; she was transported to hospital where she later died. 41-year-old Mandeep Singh of London was arrested on scene. “We now know that those two parties were involved in an intimate relationship,” said Bourdeau. According to police, this is the fifth homicide in London this year but the first to show signs of a “possible femicide”. “There are some indications that it could meet the threshold of a femicide,” said Bourdeau. “That’s not clear yet and we need to investigate much more to determine that.” Jennifer Dunn with the London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) said she was heartbroken when she heard the news. “One is too many,” said Dunn. “There shouldn’t be any men killing women in our city or anywhere.” Dunn said this comes amid ongoing concern regarding intimate partner violence in our community. “In 2023, there were four femicides that were well known here in the community,” said Dunn. “We have not stopped talking about them ever since and it really varies year over year in the city of London.” Dunn said if deemed a femicide, this will be the first case in London since Bill C16 was passed. “BC16 received royal assent,” said Dunn. “As part of this bill femicide is now recognized in the criminal code.” Bourdeau explained this would mean an automatic first-degree murder charge. “A conviction for a first-degree murder charge comes with an automatic 25-year sentence,” said Bourdeau. According to police, Chelton road was closed for a duration of the day Thursday but has since reopened. The investigation remains on going. Anyone with information is asked to call the LPS at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online. A list of resources and contact information for those experiencing intimate partner violence can be found on the LPS’ website.
