Ottawa police investigate two murders and mayoral candidates discuss housing: Top five stories this week

Ottawa police and OC Transpo special constables attend the scene of a fatal stabbing at the St. Laurent Centre in Ottawa's east end on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa police investigate two murders in the capital this week and an Ottawa police officer accused of donating to the Freedom Convoy last winter.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.

Murder charge laid in Nepean woman's death

Family, friends, neighbours and the community mourned the death of Savanna Pikuyak, who was in Ottawa to study at Algonquin College.

Ottawa police say the body of the 22-year-old was found in a home on Woodvale Green on Sunday morning. No other details about Pikuyak's death were released.

A vigil was held outside the home on Thursday for Pikuyak.

Algonquin College says Pikuyak was a first-year Pre-Health Sciences Pathway's student, who had come to Ottawa from Nunavut.

"As we grieve this senseless and tragic loss, the College is making resources available, including counselling services, to any employee or learner in need of assistance," Algonquin College said on Twitter.

Nikolas Ibey, 33, is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

18-year-old man charged with second-degree murder in connection to triple stabbing at Ottawa mall

An 18-year-old man is facing charges in connection to a triple stabbing at the St. Laurent Centre that left one man dead and two others seriously injured.

Emergency crews responded to a call for a stabbing at the mall on St. Laurent Boulevard at approximately 4:35 p.m. on Friday. Witnesses told CTV News Ottawa there was a fight on the south side of the mall, in an area near the entrance to the St. Laurent Transit Station.

Ottawa police say Marcus Maloney, 19, died from his injuries at the hospital. Two other men were transported to the Ottawa Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Mohamed Osman, 18, faces one count of second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection to the triple stabbing.

The incident happened during the afternoon commute, as thousands of people would have been travelling in the area to connect to the O-Train and OC Transpo buses. St. Laurent Station was closed to O-Train passengers due to the police operation.

Housing makes headlines on the campaign trail

Two of the main candidates for mayor in Ottawa's municipal election rolled out their plans for housing this week.

Catherine McKenney's affordable housing and homelessness platform pledged to end chronic homelessness in Ottawa within a single term of council, if elected.

The plan includes building supportive housing for 250 individuals through the federal Rapid Housing Initiative and housing another 250 people through housing allowances. McKenney would also work with community housing agencies to build 1,000 non-profit housing units per year across the city.

Mark Sutcliffe is promising to increase the availability of new homes and community housing if elected. His plan includes building 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years, including 1,000 community housing units a year.

"We want to keep the dream of homeownership alive in Ottawa," Sutcliffe said Friday morning.

Ottawa residents head to the polls on Oct. 24 to elect a new mayor, councillor and school board trustee.

Ottawa police officer accused of donating to 'Freedom Convoy' faces misconduct charge

An Ottawa police officer is facing a charge of discreditable conduct for allegedly donating money to the "Freedom Convoy" during the protest in downtown Ottawa back in February.

Const. Kristina Neilson appeared for a disciplinary hearing on Thursday morning to face the misconduct charge under the Police Services Act, after an investigation initiated by a Chief's complaint.

The Ottawa Police Service Professional Standards investigators allege Neilson donated money to the "Freedom Convoy Fund" through GiveSendGo on Feb. 5, just over a week after the convoy arrived in Ottawa to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions.

Firewood fraud: Eastern Ontario man accused of leaving buyers out in the cold

Ontario Provincial Police have laid more than a dozen fraud-related charges against an eastern Ontario man, accused of taking money for firewood and never delivering.

OPP had previously warned the public about a potential fraud involving online ads on platforms like Facebook offering firewood for sale.

Police allege the accused would request a deposit by e-transfer, but never deliver the firewood and would not respond or be unreachable by buyers.

An investigation led to the arrest of a 47-year-old man.