A woman has been accused of aiding in a murder after she was discovered with a man suspected of killing another woman in Brampton, Ontario, leading to an Amber Alert. The man, Anthony Deschepper, 38, allegedly left the scene of the shooting with his one-year-old daughter and was set to face trial on firearm charges in the coming year.
Peel Regional Police revealed that the 36-year-old woman, with connections to Brampton and Niagara Falls, was found in a vehicle with Deschepper, who was either her current or former girlfriend. She was apprehended at a gas station in Niagara Falls, where Deschepper was fatally shot by a Niagara Regional Police officer.
Deschepper, who was also facing firearm charges related to a previous incident involving the same woman killed in Brampton, maintained his innocence and planned to contest the allegations in court, according to criminal defense lawyer Andrew Edgar.
The victim, identified as Savannah Kulla, 29, was fatally shot in a plaza parking lot in Brampton. Deschepper fled the scene with his child in a Nissan Kicks but later dropped the child off safely with relatives. Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit reported that Deschepper was killed during an encounter with police and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In response to the incident, the federal Liberal government announced adjustments to the justice system to keep certain offenders detained for longer periods, a measure long advocated for by victims’ rights advocates, police unions, and some provincial leaders. However, advocates highlighted the need for additional measures outside the justice system to protect individuals like Kulla.
Rebecca Pacheco, from Embrave Agency to End Violence, expressed sorrow over the tragic event, emphasizing the systemic issue of gender-based violence and the strain on community support services. Nneka MacGregor, co-founder of the Women’s Centre for Social Justice, emphasized the preventable nature of femicide and highlighted known risk factors that could have been addressed to avert the tragedy.