Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Stabbing Mother-Of-Three To Death

Fifty-one-year-old Lascelles Allen has been charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Suraiya Gangaram, to death in a Toronto neighborhood Friday afternoon, according to a report in The Toronto Star. Gangaram, 31, and a mother-of-three, had recently ended a two year, off-and-on relationship with Allen after he was charged with domestic assault in 2014.

Following his assault charge, Allen was released on the condition that he would not have any contact with Gangaram, but she allegedly agreed to meet with him regardless because he expressed a desire to retrieve some of his belongings. Her 14-year-old daughter returned home from school to find her mother lying in a pool of drying blood, having been stabbed several times and ran from the house screaming “help me, my mom is dead,” according to neighbor Cheryl Colbert, via The Globe And Mail.

Ms. Gangaram was pronounced dead on the scene after police were called at roughly 4:15 p.m.

Allen, meanwhile, made his way southwest to the rail tracks intersecting Markham Road north of Eglinton Avenue and at approximately 4:40 p.m., threw himself in front of the westbound Via Rail train from Montreal. Detective Sergeant Stephen Ryan of the Toronto police indicated that Mr. Allen’s attempt to end his life was unsuccessful.

“He’s in bad shape but he’s alive.” This marks the second time in recent weeks that Canadian transit has been delayed by an act of violence, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

Police believe the attack to have been premeditated and have charged Allen with first-degree murder and failing to comply with bail conditions. Investigators are currently reviewing security footage, and are seeking witnesses who might have had contact with Mr. Allen before the stabbing. According to police, Allen is a resident of Scarborough, and was unemployed when the stabbing took place.

Gangaram lived in her home at 193 Danzig Street with her three children, aged 8-14, all from a previous relationship. Toronto police have stated that the children are currently staying with a family friend, until a decision on foster care can be made.

Det. Sgt. Ryan noted that although they arrested Allen on Saturday, they have had no contact with him since, and that the domestic assault charge in 2014 was not his first run-in with the law. Toronto police have released Mr. Allen’s picture in the hopes that other witnesses will come forward.

“You have an individual who has taken away three children’s mother — what do you say to that? I don’t think it gets any worse than that. […] That community has been shaken by this senseless act.”