Murder suspect Joseph Ayala was denied bail at July 15 hearing.
Alderwood residents are breathing easier tonight with the Toronto Police capture of a suspect sought for murdering his mom and grandmother.
Joseph Ayala, 34, was slapped with handcuffs on July 14 by Homicide Squad officers and charged with two counts of double murder.
Ayala was nabbed in the afternoon in Etobicoke within the boundaries of 22 Division, police said.
Alderwood residents are breathing easier with the arrest of suspect after a year.
They believe the suspect never left the community and that he was helped by others.
He appeared for a bail hearing on July 15 and was held for trial.
Ayala had been the subject of an almost year-long police search in connection with the horrific stabbing death of mom Sharon Fraser, 62 and grandmother Colleen Fraser, 82.
The double homicide took place on August 23, 2024, at a home in the Alderwood neighbourhood, near Sheldon and Silvercrest avenues. The home has since been put up for sale.
The suspect led Homicide Squad officers on a year long search but never left the area.
Police say they were dispatched to the residence after receiving a call from a concerned family member who asked them to conduct a wellbeing check on their relatives, who were found lifeless.
Police for months scoured remote area railway tracks, shorelines, bushes and forested areas without luck.
Residents were concerned that the suspected killer was on the run and installed security cameras and lighting to protect themselves and their property.
“It is about time that they caught him,” said Bill, an Alderwood resident. “People around here are relieved after living in fear for a year.”
This was Toronto’s 53rd and 54th Homicide of 2024.