Ottawa Police are calling the stabbing that happened Thursday morning in a park on Uplands Drive a femicide.
Officials said on Friday morning they charged 36-year-old Fsha Tekhle of Montreal with first-degree murder in connection to the fatal stabbing. He had a domestic relationship with a family member of the victim, Brkti Berche, 36.
A femicide is defined as the killing of women and girls because of their gender. It can be often driven by stereotypes and discrimination towards females or unequal power relations, the press release reads.
Police note their definition of femicide is “the misogynist killing of women and girls because of their gender, overwhelmingly committed by men.”
Berche was at a park at around 10:26 a.m. Oct. 24 when she was stabbed. A suspect was seen fleeing the area of Uplands Drive and Paul Anka Drive in a vehicle.
Tekhle was arrested on Highway 417 outside of Ottawa near exit 66 in Casselman, southeast of the nation’s capital.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning.