Found Deceased Canada - Riya Rajkumar, 11, Toronto, 14 Feb 2019 *father arrested*

[Shlock Homes]

This has been a perplexing case since day 1. Not a textbook criminal case at all. It all started with the amber alert, which wasn't a 'real' amber alert. They used the emergency alert system to send out the amber, even though that was mandated by the CRTC to only be used in cases of large scale emergencies, like terrorism, or natural disaster. People were woken around midnight twice, first for the initial alert, then the follow up not even an hour later indicating the child was located. When I saw it, I thought oh another false alarm. The true amber alert system requires members of the public to sign up for the messages. This wasn't the same thing. I can see why some folks chose to call 911 to complain, especially since recent cases have either been due to domestic custody battles, or girls with a history of running away.
Then the next morning, police revealed that it was a murder investigation. And her body was located in her father's home(?!). And I believe they said they found her after they arrested him. Then it took them almost the whole day to reveal that he was in hospital due to an injury, and the story about when they actually found her body kept changing. The most recent timeline that I heard was that they were at his place around 7pm, but didn't try entering the premises until close to when the amber alert was issued. But again, the timeline is fuzzy, was it 11pm? Then why was there an alert sent after, at 11:30pm?
And like others have said, how did he drive so far with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Obviously, they would have known he shot himself immediately, if he did it after they surrounded his vehicle. But again, it's not clear if they stopped his vehicle on the road, or was it already parked somewhere? And why does he own a gun, usually only someone involved in regular criminal activity would carry one. Was he known to police for other reasons? And no, they haven't even said what the cause of death was.
Many people are emotional about the case. Any time you want to discuss something, they don't want to hear it. It just should be filed away as a tragedy and leave it be. But there's always something that can be learned, or if police should be issuing amber alerts after they have located a child, for instance.

 

[Blurgle]

Alert Ready has always been intended to be used for Amber Alerts from the very first day. That was in fact considered one of its three primary purposes.

 

[dotr]

Alert Ready Emergency Alert System - Pelmorex Corp. - Alert Ready Emergency Alert System
"February 14, 2019 Ontario Amber Alert
With regards to the Amber Alert issued on February 14, 2019 at 11:36 pm EST, by the Ontario Provincial Police on behalf of Peel Regional Police through the Alert Ready system for the province of Ontario, we can confirm the alert was distributed on TV, radio and LTE-connected and compatible wireless devices.

We have received reports that some wireless users in Manitoba received the Ontario Amber Alert.

At this time we are unable to determine why alerts outside of the province of Ontario were received by some wireless users. Alert Ready partners are working to determine the cause of this, and updates will be provided as new information is received. "

• Civil Emergency
  A civil emergency occurs when humans cause a disruption of services or require varying levels of support, law enforcement or attention.
  
  
• Animal Danger
  When a wild or domesticated animal poses a threat to human life or property.
  
  
• Amber Alert
  An Amber Alert is issued by police services when a child has been abducted and it is believed that his/her life is in grave danger. An Amber Alert provides the public with immediate and up-to-date information about the abduction and solicits the public’s help in the safe and swift return of the child.
  
  
• 911 Service
  A 911 service alert happens when there is a disruption or outage of telecommunication services between the public and emergency responders.
  

1. "The Public
   • When an alert is heard, it is the responsibility of the public to stop, listen and respond as directed by the Government Issuer "

 

[Shlock Homes]

Hmm, I was under the impression that it was only used for situations where large groups of people need to be notified asap about a pending danger. There are so many uses of it, including Amber, that it kind of dilutes the importance of it's notification system. Especially, like I said, since there have been a number of amber alerts that turned out to be domestic custody issues, or runaway kids, people may end up ignoring the warning over time.

Going back to this case, I hope we also learn over time why Riya was left at a gas station, according to her mother. Was her father working there? Was that the usual routine for Riya meeting her father? Maybe there is video surveillance showing if her father was acting strange that day?

 

[ValhallaWolves]

Hmm, I was under the impression that it was only used for situations where large groups of people need to be notified asap about a pending danger. There are so many uses of it, including Amber, that it kind of dilutes the importance of it's notification system. Especially, like I said, since there have been a number of amber alerts that turned out to be domestic custody issues, or runaway kids, people may end up ignoring the warning over time.

Going back to this case, I hope we also learn over time why Riya was left at a gas station, according to her mother. Was her father working there? Was that the usual routine for Riya meeting her father? Maybe there is video surveillance showing if her father was acting strange that day?

If the parents didn’t have a good coparenting relationship, that could have been their exchange zone. Although that doesn’t make much sense if he was supposed to drop Riya back home. Maybe it was a central location between their work places? Or was closer/more convenient of an exchange coming from school? Lots of plausible scenarios where they would exchange at a “random” location.

 

[Miigo]

This self inflicted gun shot wound story doesn’t make sense imo. They guy was arrested for murder. Why was he not strip searched by provincial and regional police? How did they miss a gun shot wound, not only one police department, but 2!?

 

[Miigo]

I’m surprised more people aren’t questioning this self inflicted gun shot wound. There’s a video of a police interview from February 18th where LE state he was in STABLE condition in hospital (YouTube CityNews Toronto Rajkumar update, in case the link is against tos)

I have been strip searched in the province of Ontario for much lesser crimes (public intoxication) They even took my hair elastics and shoe laces to ensure I could not use them to injure myself in the holding cell. IMO there’s no way 2 separate police departments held him without searching him to ensure he wasn’t carrying any weapons, evidence, drugs, etc. Just doesn’t add up.

 

[Sillybilly]

This self inflicted gun shot wound story doesn’t make sense imo. They guy was arrested for murder. Why was he not strip searched by provincial and regional police? How did they miss a gun shot wound, not only one police department, but 2!?

Two separate police departments didn't miss anything. He didn't shoot himself while in custody. The self-inflicted gunshot wound was prior to his takedown in Barrie and the gun would have been confiscated at that time. It seems his injuries did not appear life threatening when he was taken to hospital for medical investigation.

Apparently the SIU does not see the need for further investigation so they seem satisfied with how this all transpired.

Ontario father charged with daughter’s murder recovering from self-inflicted gunshot wound

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Hey everyone ... this thread is dedicated to discussing little Riya's case, not to discuss at length the workings of the Amber Alert system.

Please stay on topic.

Thanks.

 

[Miigo]

Two separate police departments didn't miss anything.

They seem to have missed the gunshot wound, if the police lady in the video I linked is correct, she says it was the hospital that found the gunshot wound. IMO provincial police should have noticed it had they strip searched him upon taking him into custody. I’m not an expert, I just assume there would have been blood somewhere. Maybe because regional police were on the way to pick him up there was no reason for opp to take him into their station? Just seems weird to me it went undetected, then he’s listed as stable, then he’s dead. Either way I hope he suffered every second of the time he was alive for what he did to his beautiful baby girl.

 

[Shlock Homes]

Usually when someone is shot, they will bleed. Plus if they located a weapon in his possession, they would analyze it to see if it was discharged at some point. If he shot himself while they were 'taking him down', there would have been a visible muzzle flash. When they're searching him as they're taking him in custody, there should have been blood, or a whole in his clothing. Police would know a wound when they see one.
My understanding from reading the police reports was that he was in OPP custody, then he was transferred to Peel Police. At some point while in Peel custody, they noticed he wasn't feeling well and took him to the hospital, where they found the wound.
The question is - if the wound was found so many hours later, why do they assume he did it to himself? Shouldn't the SIU be making sure proper procedure was followed when handling the perp? Now, because there won't be any trial, we won't know the facts around this case, such as the actual time they entered his property to find Riya.

 

[JDG]

Murder charges agains the father, withdrawn.

Hamilton Spectator. March 1, 2019

 

[TravelingBug]

I wonder if the GSW was actually from earlier (perhaps even a day plus earlier) and he really died from complications from a GSW?

That could explain it possibly not seeming bad or bleeding, etc. and him seeming stable, but then being able to deteriorate and ultimately die from some sort of complication/infection etc.

ETA: In my SoCal city I hear probably 2-4 scanner calls a month of people with either old GSWs or stab wounds that happened hours or even days (and in a few cases even weeks) earlier that they never got medical treatment for and tried to treat at home, and then ultimately call 911 about or are walk-ins at a hospital and then they call LE to respond. Typically they are people who obtained them in a means that explains the motive behind not seeking medical treatment initially (gang related or obtained in the commission of some sort of crime themselves) and they know it would require explanation and possibly investigation if they go in...so they try to make do, only some eventually realize things are worse than they thought or they start having other signs of complication/infection and go in. Though in some cases they've been self-inflicted (both intentional and accidental) even.

IMO that could be a similar scenario with Riya's father (whether at the hands of someone else or somehow self inflicted - intentional or accidental) since he'd obviously have known if he went in for treatment LE would be alerted and then he'd be caught and so might have avoided ever seeking help.

 

[dotr]

Murder charges agains the father, withdrawn.

Hamilton Spectator. March 1, 2019

Strange!
Murder charge against accused child killer, Roopesh Rajkumar withdrawn
The investigation into the killing of 11-year-old Riya Rajkumar is continuing, even as the first-degree murder charge against her dead father was withdrawn in a Brampton court this week.

Peel's homicide investigators continue to interview witnesses and probe Roopesh Rajkumar's background, even though the 41-year-old Brampton man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last week, say police.

"The investigation is not complete," said Peel police spokesperson Const. Harinder Sohi. "Investigations continue regardless of whether the offender is alive or dead."

 

[Shlock Homes]

IMO that could be a similar scenario with Riya's father (whether at the hands of someone else or somehow self inflicted - intentional or accidental) since he'd obviously have known if he went in for treatment LE would be alerted and then he'd be caught and so might have avoided ever seeking help.

That's possible, but if you've got a gun and you don't kill yourself initially, then you'd probably fire a second or third shot. They never said where on his body the wound was. And sadly, because the charges have been withdrawn, it appears we'll never know what REALLY happened.

Here's an article in the Toronto Star about the problem with such resolutions to murder suicide cases.

We may never know why Riya Rajkumar died. That needs to change, domestic violence experts say | The Star

"Rajkumar, who died in hospital on Feb. 20 of a self-inflicted gunshot, will never stand trial. The evidence from the police investigation will not be made public. He will never be more than the alleged killer of his child, a forever 11-year-old with a toothy grin who loved Drake and red nail polish."