Suspect in fatal shooting of 25-year-old woman in Mississauga appears in court

A 39-year-old Toronto man facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of his Mississauga girlfriend made a court appearance on Tuesday.

Officers were called to the area of Rathburn and Dixie roads at around 5 a.m. on Monday after receiving multiple calls about shots fired.

The body of a female victim – later identified as 25-year-old Alicia Lewandowski – was located by police at the time. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several hours after police released a photo of a suspect identified as Joseph Chang, an arrest was made in connection with the investigation.

Chang was taken into custody at a Toronto McDonald’s in the area of King and Dufferin streets at around 8 p.m. on Monday. A black Infiniti was towed at the scene.

He was charged with first-degree murder shortly afterwards. This charge has not been proven in court.

While there was a publication ban on Chang’s court appearance on Tuesday, his lawyer Daniel Kayfetz spoke to reporters outside of the courtroom.

“This is a very tragic case involving the murder of a young woman,” he said. “I put the case over to March 29 to allow the crown attorney to put together their file and meet with me to look for a resolution to figure out what happened here and move on with the case.”

“I was told that it’s been said that it’s a domestic… This case is not what it seems and that will all come out later on after the crown attorney has done their work on it.”

Speaking with CTV News Toronto on Monday, Lewandowski’s best friend, Ashely Deoliveira, said the pair’s four-year relationship had been ‘rocky.’

On Monday, police confirmed the suspect and the victim knew each other.