Latest news with #Moreira
Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Toronto Star
14-year-old boy charged with first-degree murder in random Pickering stabbing
The 14-year-old suspect in Thursday's fatal stabbing in Pickering has been charged with first-degree murder, a court heard Friday morning. The incident spurred a massive local manhunt and a shelter-in-place warning for residents. Around 3 p.m. on Lynn Heights Drive, the elderly victim was in front of her home when a male approached and stabbed her repeatedly, police said. A passerby found her and she was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. The suspect was arrested 'without incident' after what investigators called an 'extensive search' around 8:30 p.m., officials said in a news release late Friday morning. Acting staff Sgt. Joanne McCabe told media at the scene on Friday morning that police are looking into reports from residents that the suspect was prowling homes in the area in the weeks leading up to the incident. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'This is something that I think ... is going to impact this community for a very long time,' McCabe told reporters at the scene. The attack appears to be random, noting that the boy and the victim had brief chat before she was fatally stabbed, McCabe said. 'What that conversation was will also be part of the investigation,' she said. Gta Pickering stabbing: Mayor shocked by 'so much hate' after 13-year-old boy is arrested in Durham homicide Arrest of boy Thursday evening ends an intense police search following the death of a Pickering On Thursday evening at the scene, Durham police Chief Peter Moreira called the incident a 'sadistic and cowardly, unprovoked attack that was captured on video.' 'I worked in homicide for a long time, and I can tell you that an unprovoked attack like this is just unimaginable.' Moreira declined to comment further on the details of the arrest, saying the investigation is still in its early stages. Police have not publicly stated whether there was a relationship between the victim and suspect, adding the victim's name is being withheld at her family's request. The suspect's identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The apparently random nature of the fatal stabbing pushed Durham officers to take 'unusual steps,' Moreira added, including deploying the OPP Alert Ready service. Although the shelter-in-place was only intended for the people in the immediate area, the alert was received on cellphones elsewhere in the GTA. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW McCabe said on Friday investigative work is done before emergency alerts are deployed, and police 'understand the fear that they may cause.' 'We don't release them lightly,' she added. Durham Regional Police investigate a murder near the intersection of Fairport and Lynn Heights in Pickering. Steve Russell/ Toronto Star The city of Pickering cancelled all evening activities and classes in the wake of the attack, but after the suspect was arrested, locals were told they could go back to their activities. 'I'm shocked that a person so young has so much hate in them,' Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe told reporters at the scene Thursday. Ashe added the boy was affected by the 'burden of mental health.' Police previously reported the suspect was 13 years old. More to come
Global News
4 days ago
- Global News
Boy, 14, faces murder charge after stabbing of elderly woman in Pickering, Ont.
A 14-year-old boy from Pickering, Ont., has been charged with first-degree murder after an elderly woman was stabbed to death on Thursday afternoon. The teen appeared in court Friday morning and was seen wearing a dark grey sweatshirt and light grey sweatpants. As he was leaving the video booth, his right hand appeared to be injured, wrapped in white medical tape. The accused has a lengthy no-contact order with a number of people. The teen's identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear back in court again on June 20. Timeline of incident On Thursday, around 5:40 p.m., Durham Regional Police issued an emergency alert, telling residents near 2125 Lynn Heights Dr. in Pickering to shelter in place. Story continues below advertisement The alert was triggered after a stabbing in the area around 3 p.m., when an elderly woman was attacked by a male suspect, whom police said she did not know. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Police say video footage showed the woman outside when she was approached by the suspect. After a brief encounter, the suspect attacked the victim, stabbing her multiple times before fleeing the area on foot, police allege. The victim was rushed to a trauma centre in the Toronto area, where she succumbed to her injuries. The victim was named in court on Friday but is being withheld from publication at the family's request. Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira said officers had no knowledge of a motive for the attack, which he called 'sadistic and cowardly.' Residents were told to stay inside while a search for the suspect over several hours. The emergency alert was followed by the news that the City of Pickering would shutter its community centres, libraries and other facilities to observe the shelter-in-place order. At around 8:45 p.m., roughly three hours after the emergency alert and almost six hours after the attack itself, police confirmed the arrest of a young teenager. Story continues below advertisement 'We're announcing that we've arrested a 13-year-old male from Pickering, and he's been arrested by our tactical support unit without incident,' Chief Moreira told reporters. The next day, police corrected the accused's age to 14. The chief said his officers still believed the attack was random and had not yet been able to establish a connection. Durham police said they searched the area using a helicopter, drone and both the K9 and tactical units. Before the arrest was made, Moreira said he made the decision to issue the alert out of an abundance of caution because police didn't know where the suspect was, nor did they have a motive for the attack. With files from Global News' Isaac Callan
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Chilean woman with muscular dystrophy becomes face of euthanasia debate as bill stalls in Senate
Susana Moreira, 41, a degenerative muscular dystrophy patient, looks at her husband in her bedroom in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo: AP) As a child, Susana Moreira didn't have the same energy as her siblings. Over time, her legs stopped walking and she lost the ability to bathe and take care of herself. Over the last two decades, the 41-year-old Chilean has spent her days bedridden, suffering from degenerative muscular dystrophy. When she finally loses her ability to speak or her lungs fail, she wants to be able to opt for euthanasia - which is currently prohibited in Chile . Moreira has become the public face of Chile's decade-long debate over euthanasia and assisted dying, a bill that the left-wing government of President Gabriel Boric has pledged to address in his last year in power, a critical period for its approval ahead of November's presidential election. "This disease will progress, and I will reach a point where I won't be able to communicate," Moreira told The Associated Press from the house where she lives with her husband in southern Santiago. "When the time comes, I need the euthanasia bill to be a law." A debate spanning more than 10 years In April 2021, Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill to allow euthanasia and assisted suicide for those over 18 who suffer from a terminal or "serious and incurable" illness. But it has since been stalled in the Senate. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo The initiative seeks to regulate euthanasia, in which a doctor administers a drug that causes death, and assisted suicide, in which a doctor provides a lethal substance that the patients take themselves. If the bill passes, Chile will join a select group of countries that allow both euthanasia and assisted suicide, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and Australia. It would also make Chile the third Latin American country to rule on the matter, following Colombia's established regulations and Ecuador's recent decriminalization, which remains unimplemented due to a lack of regulation. 'As long as my body allows me' When she was 8 years old, Moreira was diagnosed with shoulder-girdle muscular dystrophy, a progressive genetic disease that affects all her muscles and causes difficulty breathing, swallowing and extreme weakness. Confined to bed, she spends her days playing video games, reading and watching Harry Potter movies. Outings are rare and require preparation, as the intense pain only allows her three or four hours in the wheelchair. As the disease progressed, she said she felt the "urgency" to speak out in order to advance the discussion in Congress. "I don't want to live plugged into machines, I don't want a tracheostomy, I don't want a feeding tube, I don't want a ventilator to breathe. I want to live as long as my body allows me," she said. In a letter to President Boric last year, Moreira revealed her condition, detailed her daily struggles and asked him to authorize her euthanasia. Boric made Moreira's letter public to Congress in June and announced that passing the euthanasia bill would be a priority in his final year in office. "Passing this law is an act of empathy, responsibility and respect," he said. But hope soon gave way to uncertainty. Almost a year after that announcement, multiple political upheavals have relegated Boric's promised social agenda to the background. A change in mood Chile, a country of roughly 19 million inhabitants at the southern tip of the southern hemisphere, began to debate euthanasia more than ten years ago. Despite a predominantly Catholic population and the strong influence of the Church at the time, Representative Vlado Mirosevic , from Chile's Liberal Party, first presented a bill for euthanasia and assisted dying in 2014. The proposal was met with skepticism and strong resistance. Over the years, the bill underwent numerous modifications with little significant progress until 2021. "Chile was then one of the most conservative countries in Latin America," Mirosevic told the AP. More recently, however, public opinion has shifted, showing greater openness to debating thorny issues. "There was a change in the mood," Mirosevic said, citing the rising support for the euthanasia bill among Chileans. Indeed, recent surveys show strong public support for euthanasia and assisted dying in Chile. According to a 2024 survey by Chilean public opinion pollster Cadem, 75% of those interviewed said they supported euthanasia, while a study by the Center for Public Studies from October found that 89% of Chileans believe euthanasia should "always be allowed" or "allowed in special cases," compared to 11% who believed the procedure "should never be allowed." Suffering, 'the only certainty' Boric's commitment to the euthanasia bill has been welcomed by patients and families of those lost to terminal illnesses, including Fredy Maureira, a decade-long advocate for the right of choosing when to die. His 14-year-old daughter Valentina went viral in 2015, after posting a video appealing to then-President Michelle Bachelet for euthanasia. Her request was denied, and she died less than two months later from complications of cystic fibrosis. The commotion generated both inside and outside Chile by her story allowed the debate on assisted death to penetrate also into the social sphere. "I addressed Congress several times, asking lawmakers to put themselves in the shoes of someone whose child or sibling is pleading to die, and there's no law to allow it," said Maureira. Despite growing public support, euthanasia and assisted death remains a contentious issue in Chile, including among health professionals. "Only when all palliative care coverage is available and accessible, will it be time to sit down and discuss the euthanasia law," Irene Munoz Pino, a nurse, academic and advisor to the Chilean Scientific Society of Palliative Nursing, said. She was referring to a recent law, enacted in 2022, that ensures palliative care and protects the rights of terminally ill individuals. Others argue that the absence of a legal medical option for assisted dying could lead patients to seek other riskier, unsupervised alternatives. "Unfortunately, I keep hearing about suicides that could have been instances of medically assisted death or euthanasia," said Colombian psychologist Monica Giraldo. With only a few months remaining, Chile's leftist government faces a narrow window to pass the euthanasia bill before the November presidential elections dominate the political agenda. "A sick person isn't certain of anything; the only certainty they have is that they will suffer," Moreira said. "Knowing that I have the opportunity to choose, gives me peace of mind."
03-05-2025
- Health
Chilean woman with muscular dystrophy becomes face of euthanasia debate as bill stalls in Senate
SANTIAGO, Chile -- As a child, Susana Moreira didn't have the same energy as her siblings. Over time, her legs stopped walking and she lost the ability to bathe and take care of herself. Over the last two decades, the 41-year-old Chilean has spent her days bedridden, suffering from degenerative muscular dystrophy. When she finally loses her ability to speak or her lungs fail, she wants to be able to opt for euthanasia — which is currently prohibited in Chile. Moreira has become the public face of Chile's decade-long debate over euthanasia and assisted dying, a bill that the left-wing government of President Gabriel Boric has pledged to address in his last year in power, a critical period for its approval ahead of November's presidential election. 'This disease will progress, and I will reach a point where I won't be able to communicate,' Moreira told The Associated Press from the house where she lives with her husband in southern Santiago. 'When the time comes, I need the euthanasia bill to be a law.' In April 2021, Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill to allow euthanasia and assisted suicide for those over 18 who suffer from a terminal or 'serious and incurable' illness. But it has since been stalled in the Senate. The initiative seeks to regulate euthanasia, in which a doctor administers a drug that causes death, and assisted suicide, in which a doctor provides a lethal substance that the patients take themselves. If the bill passes, Chile will join a select group of countries that allow both euthanasia and assisted suicide, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and Australia. It would also make Chile the third Latin American country to rule on the matter, following Colombia's established regulations and Ecuador's recent decriminalization, which remains unimplemented due to a lack of regulation. When she was 8 years old, Moreira was diagnosed with shoulder-girdle muscular dystrophy, a progressive genetic disease that affects all her muscles and causes difficulty breathing, swallowing and extreme weakness. Confined to bed, she spends her days playing video games, reading and watching Harry Potter movies. Outings are rare and require preparation, as the intense pain only allows her three or four hours in the wheelchair. As the disease progressed, she said she felt the 'urgency' to speak out in order to advance the discussion in Congress. 'I don't want to live plugged into machines, I don't want a tracheostomy, I don't want a feeding tube, I don't want a ventilator to breathe. I want to live as long as my body allows me,' she said. In a letter to President Boric last year, Moreira revealed her condition, detailed her daily struggles and asked him to authorize her euthanasia. Boric made Moreira's letter public to Congress in June and announced that passing the euthanasia bill would be a priority in his final year in office. 'Passing this law is an act of empathy, responsibility and respect,' he said. But hope soon gave way to uncertainty. Almost a year after that announcement, multiple political upheavals have relegated Boric's promised social agenda to the background. Chile, a country of roughly 19 million inhabitants at the southern tip of the southern hemisphere, began to debate euthanasia more than ten years ago. Despite a predominantly Catholic population and the strong influence of the Church at the time, Representative Vlado Mirosevic, from Chile's Liberal Party, first presented a bill for euthanasia and assisted dying in 2014. The proposal was met with skepticism and strong resistance. Over the years, the bill underwent numerous modifications with little significant progress until 2021. 'Chile was then one of the most conservative countries in Latin America,' Mirosevic told the AP. More recently, however, Chilean public opinion has shifted, showing greater openness to debating thorny issues. 'There was a change in the mood, and today there is a scenario where we have an absolute major support (of the population) for the euthanasia bill,' Mirosevic added. Indeed, recent surveys show strong public support for euthanasia and assisted dying in Chile. According to a 2024 survey by Chilean public opinion pollster Cadem, 75% of those interviewed said they supported euthanasia, while a study by the Center for Public Studies from October found that 89% of Chileans believe euthanasia should 'always be allowed' or 'allowed in special cases,' compared to 11% who believed the procedure "should never be allowed.' Boric's commitment to the euthanasia bill has been welcomed by patients and families of those lost to terminal illnesses, including Fredy Maureira, a decade-long advocate for the right of choosing when to die. His 14-year-old daughter Valentina went viral in 2015, after posting a video appealing to then-President Michelle Bachelet for euthanasia. Her request was denied, and she died less than two months later from complications of cystic fibrosis. The commotion generated both inside and outside Chile by her story allowed the debate on assisted death to penetrate also into the social sphere. 'I addressed Congress several times, asking lawmakers to put themselves in the shoes of someone whose child or sibling is pleading to die, and there's no law to allow it," said Maureira. Despite growing public support, euthanasia and assisted death remains a contentious issue in Chile, including among health professionals. 'Only when all palliative care coverage is available and accessible, will it be time to sit down and discuss the euthanasia law,' Irene Muñoz Pino, a nurse, academic and advisor to the Chilean Scientific Society of Palliative Nursing, said. She was referring to a recent law, enacted in 2022, that ensures palliative care and protects the rights of terminally ill individuals. Others argue that the absence of a legal medical option for assisted dying could lead patients to seek other riskier, unsupervised alternatives. 'Unfortunately, I keep hearing about suicides that could have been instances of medically assisted death or euthanasia,' said Colombian psychologist Monica Giraldo. With only a few months remaining, Chile's leftist government faces a narrow window to pass the euthanasia bill before the November presidential elections dominate the political agenda. 'A sick person isn't certain of anything; the only certainty they have is that they will suffer,' Moreira said. 'Knowing that I have the opportunity to choose, gives me peace of mind."
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Chilean woman with muscular dystrophy becomes face of euthanasia debate as bill stalls in Senate
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — As a child, Susana Moreira didn't have the same energy as her siblings. Over time, her legs stopped walking and she lost the ability to bathe and take care of herself. Over the last two decades, the 41-year-old Chilean has spent her days bedridden, suffering from degenerative muscular dystrophy. When she finally loses her ability to speak or her lungs fail, she wants to be able to opt for euthanasia — which is currently prohibited in Chile. Moreira has become the public face of Chile's decade-long debate over euthanasia and assisted dying, a bill that the left-wing government of President Gabriel Boric has pledged to address in his last year in power, a critical period for its approval ahead of November's presidential election. 'This disease will progress, and I will reach a point where I won't be able to communicate,' Moreira told The Associated Press from the house where she lives with her husband in southern Santiago. 'When the time comes, I need the euthanasia bill to be a law.' A debate spanning more than 10 years In April 2021, Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill to allow euthanasia and assisted suicide for those over 18 who suffer from a terminal or 'serious and incurable' illness. But it has since been stalled in the Senate. The initiative seeks to regulate euthanasia, in which a doctor administers a drug that causes death, and assisted suicide, in which a doctor provides a lethal substance that the patients take themselves. If the bill passes, Chile will join a select group of countries that allow both euthanasia and assisted suicide, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and Australia. It would also make Chile the third Latin American country to rule on the matter, following Colombia's established regulations and Ecuador's recent decriminalization, which remains unimplemented due to a lack of regulation. 'As long as my body allows me' When she was 8 years old, Moreira was diagnosed with shoulder-girdle muscular dystrophy, a progressive genetic disease that affects all her muscles and causes difficulty breathing, swallowing and extreme weakness. Confined to bed, she spends her days playing video games, reading and watching Harry Potter movies. Outings are rare and require preparation, as the intense pain only allows her three or four hours in the wheelchair. As the disease progressed, she said she felt the 'urgency' to speak out in order to advance the discussion in Congress. 'I don't want to live plugged into machines, I don't want a tracheostomy, I don't want a feeding tube, I don't want a ventilator to breathe. I want to live as long as my body allows me,' she said. In a letter to President Boric last year, Moreira revealed her condition, detailed her daily struggles and asked him to authorize her euthanasia. Boric made Moreira's letter public to Congress in June and announced that passing the euthanasia bill would be a priority in his final year in office. 'Passing this law is an act of empathy, responsibility and respect,' he said. But hope soon gave way to uncertainty. Almost a year after that announcement, multiple political upheavals have relegated Boric's promised social agenda to the background. A change in mood Chile, a country of roughly 19 million inhabitants at the southern tip of the southern hemisphere, began to debate euthanasia more than ten years ago. Despite a predominantly Catholic population and the strong influence of the Church at the time, Representative Vlado Mirosevic, from Chile's Liberal Party, first presented a bill for euthanasia and assisted dying in 2014. The proposal was met with skepticism and strong resistance. Over the years, the bill underwent numerous modifications with little significant progress until 2021. 'Chile was then one of the most conservative countries in Latin America,' Mirosevic told the AP. More recently, however, Chilean public opinion has shifted, showing greater openness to debating thorny issues. 'There was a change in the mood, and today there is a scenario where we have an absolute major support (of the population) for the euthanasia bill,' Mirosevic added. Indeed, recent surveys show strong public support for euthanasia and assisted dying in Chile. According to a 2024 survey by Chilean public opinion pollster Cadem, 75% of those interviewed said they supported euthanasia, while a study by the Center for Public Studies from October found that 89% of Chileans believe euthanasia should 'always be allowed' or 'allowed in special cases,' compared to 11% who believed the procedure "should never be allowed.' Suffering, 'the only certainty' Boric's commitment to the euthanasia bill has been welcomed by patients and families of those lost to terminal illnesses, including Fredy Maureira, a decade-long advocate for the right of choosing when to die. His 14-year-old daughter Valentina went viral in 2015, after posting a video appealing to then-President Michelle Bachelet for euthanasia. Her request was denied, and she died less than two months later from complications of cystic fibrosis. The commotion generated both inside and outside Chile by her story allowed the debate on assisted death to penetrate also into the social sphere. 'I addressed Congress several times, asking lawmakers to put themselves in the shoes of someone whose child or sibling is pleading to die, and there's no law to allow it," said Maureira. Despite growing public support, euthanasia and assisted death remains a contentious issue in Chile, including among health professionals. 'Only when all palliative care coverage is available and accessible, will it be time to sit down and discuss the euthanasia law,' Irene Muñoz Pino, a nurse, academic and advisor to the Chilean Scientific Society of Palliative Nursing, said. She was referring to a recent law, enacted in 2022, that ensures palliative care and protects the rights of terminally ill individuals. Others argue that the absence of a legal medical option for assisted dying could lead patients to seek other riskier, unsupervised alternatives. 'Unfortunately, I keep hearing about suicides that could have been instances of medically assisted death or euthanasia,' said Colombian psychologist Monica Giraldo. With only a few months remaining, Chile's leftist government faces a narrow window to pass the euthanasia bill before the November presidential elections dominate the political agenda. 'A sick person isn't certain of anything; the only certainty they have is that they will suffer,' Moreira said. 'Knowing that I have the opportunity to choose, gives me peace of mind." ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
