Canadian father accused of killing his 11-year-old daughter
Riya Rajkumar, left, and her father Roopesh Rajkumar. (Facebook)
Feb. 14th was Riya Rajkumar’s 11th birthday, her mom’s birthday and Valentine’s Day.
It was also the day she was senselessly murdered — allegedly by her own dad.
“We are proceeding with a first-degree murder charge,” Peel Regional Police Const. Danny Marttini said Friday.
When that happens depends on how fast the accused — Roopesh Rajkumar, 41 — recovers in hospital as a result of a gunshot wound that sources believe was self-inflicted.
“He needs to be aware before a charge can be laid,” said a source.
Sources say the gunshot was not detected until after Peel cops drove up to the Orillia area where he was arrested in a high-risk takedown by the OPP in the early morning hours.
Marttini said it was decided to take him to a “trauma centre” in Toronto where he remains under guard.
Police were also taking a second look inside the vehicle for a firearm. Ontario’s Special Investigations unit was notified, but the police watchdog did not invoke its mandate.
Although innocent until proven guilty, police are also trying to determine a potential motive for such a horrific act — as well as the cause of death.
There were no “obvious signs of trauma” to her body, which makes the results from the scheduled autopsy for Saturday even more coveted for detectives trying to untangle the mystery.
Outside the residence on Hansen Rd. N., where the suspect lived in a basement apartment, the focus was on Riya.
“She was such a sweet little girl,” the accused father’s aunt, Nancy Alli, told reporters.
Her son Ryan added “she was the princess of the family.”
The flag was at half-staff at her elementary school which in an email to parents said the murder “has brought tremendous sadness to the students and staff at Meadowvale Village Public School.”
Princess of the family born to a murderer.
That poor mother. She will never be the same again.
The Father owned the house on Hansen Rd., Riya was found in the basement. They haven’t released how she died but since the Father was found with a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound, the masses are leaning toward he shot her. This is in my community, it has stunned us, we are going to a vigil tonight for Riya. Domestic violence, mental illness, all of these topics are top discussion again, how can we prevent this from happening again? RIP sweet angel Riya
When I heard how the citizens complained about the amber alert that went out for this girl, that $hit made me so mad. People literally called 911 to complain and bitch about how it woke them up etc… imagine somebody pickney missing and that was the complaint, nouse from the phones going off. When they found her dead my heart really broke. Him fi rot under the prison.