Murder charge laid in death of missing Markham, Ont. woman

York Regional Police say they have charged a suspect with second-degree murder after the remains of a missing Markham woman were found 90 minutes north of the city.

Earlier this week, officers looking for 57-year-old Ying Zhang in the City of Kawartha Lakes found human remains in a garbage bin.

The coroner has since confirmed the remains as Zhang, police said in a news release Thursday.

Zhang was last spotted on the morning of July 25 in the Woodbine Avenue and Steelcase Road area. She worked at a wellness centre at a commercial plaza in the area and family reported her missing that evening when she didn't return home from work, CTV News Toronto previously learned.

YRP said Thursday that Zhang was assaulted at her workplace before she disappeared.

"Evidence that we had from the initial scene was that our suspect had gone to her workplace. We do have evidence that an assault took place inside," Const. James Dickson told CP24 in an interview.

A white van and a suspect with a green garbage bin on wheels were seen in the same area at the time of Zhang's disappearance, police said. They also said there was information that the van travelled to the City of Kawartha Lakes that day, which led officers to search the area.

"Officers did seize this van in relation to the arrest of our accused party," Dickson said. "That van has been forensically processed, and the images that we released of it were from police custody."

On July 29, police announced that they had charged 26-year-old Changlin Yang of East Gwillimbury, Ont. with kidnapping, forcible confinement, and aggravated assault in connection with Zhang’s disappearance. The charges have now been upgraded to second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body.

Police have not disclosed a possible motive for the killing so far, though they have said they believe Zhang was targeted.

"Unfortunately at this time, the investigators are still working to determine the level of relationship between the two," Dickson said. "Again, we do believe that this was targeted, and we do believe this is an isolated incident. In terms of motivation in the offence and how they knew each other, this is something that's going to be unfolding over the next several months."

Dickson said police will "turn over every stone to be looking at any potential connections" between the two.

He reiterated that the investigation is still in its very early stages.

Police are asking any possible witnesses or anyone with additional information to come forward to investigators.