HAMILTON – Police in Hamilton is seeking a woman, 26-year-old Larissa Shingebis as a suspect in the murder of 79-year-old Gladys Little.
In a statement to media Hamilton police state that an arrest warrant for First Degree murder will be obtained on Sunday morning for Larissa Shingebis.
Police describe Larissa Shingebis as an Indigenous female, who is 5’4”, with a medium build, and collar-length hair.
Larissa Shingebis was last seen exiting 187 Park Street South on Friday, May 15, 2020 wearing a red long-sleeved blouse, grey yoga pants, white socks, black casual shoes and wrapped in a blue knitted blanket.
Due to the random and violent actions of Shingebis in the murder of Gladys Little, the Hamilton Police Service has decided to release her name and photo for public safety reasons prior to the warrant being issued.
Shingebis has a transient lifestyle and is originally from the Thunder Bay area. Anyone seeing Shingebis should not approach her but call 911 immediately.
Gladys Little’s family has been notified of the pending arrest warrant and the fact that Gladys did not know her assailant.
Background:
Around 4 pm on Saturday, May 16, 2020, Gladys Little was found deceased in her apartment at 187 Park Street South, Hamilton. Gladys missed her daily check-in call with her son, so family members attended her residence to check on her well-being.
Upon finding Gladys in the apartment, they immediately called 911 and emergency services responded. Gladys was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner attended. Due to the circumstances found at the scene, a post mortem was ordered to determine the cause of death.
The apartment was secured and held by the police pending the results of the autopsy. The scene was processed by the Forensic Service Branch to assist the coroner with their death investigation.
An initial canvass was also conducted by police with the victim’s neighbours in addition to the apartments on the floors immediately above and below. Members from the Forensic Video Unit obtained CCTV footage from the building.
The post mortem was conducted on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto and was concluded that afternoon. The autopsy revealed that Gladys was the victim of a homicide and her family has been notified.
The Major Crime Unit is in charge of the investigation and a complete canvass of the twenty-story apartment building was undertaken on Wednesday afternoon. Police are asking anyone from the building who saw or heard any suspicious activity or persons between 1 pm on Friday and 4 pm on Saturday to call the Major Crime Unit.
If you have any information that you believe could assist Police with the investigation into this crime, you are asked to contact Detective Andrew Coughlan of the Major Crime Unit by calling 905-546-3874.
To provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit your anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com
