OSHAWA FIRE A HOMICIDE

Homicide officers have now taken over the investigation of a "suspicious" Oshawa fire that left one person dead. Durham police announced the fire on Court Street is in the hands of the homicide unit after an autopsy "determined the victim suffered trauma to the body, which investigators believe is indicative of a homicide."

The deceased has not yet been identified, added police. One person was located in the home deceased after emergency crews were dispatched to the fire scene just before 10 a.m. on March 6. Following the blaze, Oshawa Fire Chief Derrick Clark declared the incident "suspicious" in nature but was unable to provide a cause of the fire.

Officials from the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office

were later called in and also deemed the fire suspicious in nature, say police. An autopsy was conducted on the victim on March 7.

Clark told reporters at the fire scene, "it appears at this time there may have been multiple locations" where the fire started.

Police say the deceased is the fifth victim of homicide in Durham Region in 2023.

Anyone with information or video footage, including dashcam and home surveillance, is asked to contact Detective Mcdermott at 905579-1520, extension 5411.