A Toronto police officer closes the entrance to a laneway beside Clendenan Ave., after the body of a woman was found rolled in a carpet in the area on Feb. 01, 2012.
Homicide has been ruled out in the death of a woman whose body was discovered wrapped in a carpet in a Junction alley, Toronto police said Thursday.
Officers arrived shortly after noon on Wednesday to Clendenan Avenue, behind a house, near Dundas Street West. A local man called 911 after he discovered the body behind his home. The homicide squad had been probing the case but it is now being handled by the local division.
"Officially, this is not a homicide," Constable Tony Vella said Thursday. "Police are still investigating, but not as a homicide."
Constable Vella said the woman was a 31-year-old from Toronto. Her death is classified as suspicious, he said, declining to elaborate on the cause of death or what the investigation is focusing on. Her name probably won't be released, he added.
John Rutledge said he peered inside the duct-taped carpet, which had a coat stuffed at one end, after his dog drew his attention to it. "It just didn't look right," he said, noting he returned home right away to call police.
On Wednesday afternoon, police knocked on doors on Quebec Avenue and other nearby streets, asking neighbours if they'd noticed anything amiss. Much of the area was blocked off by cruisers and police tape.
"We were just going shopping, and when we got [outside]the car was taped in," said David King, who said he has lived on Quebec Avenue for about 50 years. He said the police seem focused on an alley directly behind his home.
He didn't see anything suspicious in the morning and he got the impression the body was dumped there, he said. "I was surprised," he said, calling the area quiet and a great place to live.
Officers asked anyone who noticed suspicious cars or people nearby up to 24 hours before the discovery to contact police.