Rohinie Bisesar faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal 2015 stabbing.
The woman charged in a fatal stabbing in Toronto's underground PATH system in December is now facing a charge of first-degree murder.
Toronto police said the charge against Rohinie Bisesar, 40, was upgraded from second-degree murder in court on Wednesday. Ms. Bisesar was charged in the death of 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor, who was stabbed in a downtown Shoppers Drug Mart on Dec. 11. Police described the killing as random and unprovoked, saying there was nothing to suggest the two women knew each other.
Calvin Barry, Ms. Bisesar's lawyer, said he is not sure what led to the change because the Crown has not yet disclosed its evidence.
But a charge of first-degree murder, which implies premeditation, does not have to mean a suspect had a complex or long-term plan, or knew the victim, Mr. Barry said, speaking in general.
There have been first-degree murder convictions in Canada in which the victim was "a random person," he said.
The new charge is the most serious one in Canada's criminal code, and carries a minimum sentence of 25 years without parole.
A friend of Ms. Bisesar's, York mathematics professor Trueman MacHenry, told The Globe and Mail that the MBA-holder had been homeless for months before her arrest, sleeping on subways and in the PATH system, but dressing immaculately and searching for a job in finance during the day.
She will return to court on Feb. 29.