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The Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit has identified the victim of the Heney Street homicide in Lowertown as 51-year-old Renee Descary of Ottawa. One person is in custody as the police continue their investigation. So far this year, there have been seven homicides in Ottawa. This murder has been classified by police as a femicide. Photo by Ashley Fraser /PostmediaArticle content
A Lowertown neighbourhood is mourning the loss of a pillar in their community.
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Renée Descary, 51, was killed on Heney Street shortly after 4:30 p.m. on April 1.
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Police have identified her as the victim of Ottawa’s seventh homicide of 2025, and say her death is being investigated as femicide.
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Map shows location of five homicides that occurred over the course of eight days in late March and early April. Photo by Robert Cross /PostmediaArticle content
Neighbour Melanie Girouard said she had known Descary since she was young, when Descary worked at a nearby community centre.
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“She had a really, really good heart,” she said.
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Descary served on her housing co-op’s board of directors and was dedicated to making the community better for everyone, Girouard said.
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She was the mother of two children in their 20s and was just days away from her 52nd birthday.
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“It’s a shock, to have someone so amazing be taken away,” Girouard said.
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Another neighbour only gave her first name, Anisa, and said she and her daughter were deeply shaken by Descary’s death.
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“Today is a really bad day,” she said. “I’m afraid, imagining this person comes to my home.”
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She echoed that Descary was “a very, very, very good person,” and a good neighbour who helped everyone.
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Police have charged Oliver Denai, 24, of Ottawa, with second-degree murder, alleging he stabbed her to death. Police said he was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
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The Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit has identified the victim of the Heney Street homicide in Lowertown on April 1 as 51-year-old Renee Descary of Ottawa. One person was in custody as the police continued their investigation. So far this year, there have been seven homicides in Ottawa. This death has been classified by police as a femicide. Photo by Ashley Fraser /PostmediaArticle content
The Ottawa Police Service defines femicide as “the killing of women and girls because of their gender” often driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls or unequal power relations between women and men.
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A media release from police said the homicide occurred just after 4:30 p.m. at 20 Heney St., near MacDonald Gardens Park.
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A spokesperson for Ottawa’s paramedics said Descary was pronounced dead at the scene following an assault with an “edged weapon.”
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Another person was taken to hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
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Anyone with information, cellphone or other video of the incident was asked to contact Ottawa Police Service at 613-236-1222. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestoppers.ca.
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Tuesday’s killing marked the seventh homicide of 2025 in Ottawa.
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The Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit has identified the victim of the Heney Street homicide in Lowertown on April 1 as 51-year-old Renee Descary of Ottawa. Photo by Ashley Fraser /PostmediaArticle content
In chronological order, the previous six included:
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Jan. 10: Wilson Sabarros, killed in a home on Pondhollow Way in Barrhaven.Feb. 6: Amr Zohair, killed at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.Feb. 15: Omar Jonathan Grant, killed in an apartment building on St. Laurent Boulevard.Feb. 19: Robert Vides, killed in an apartment building on Presland Road.March 14: Kole Warren Watanabe, killed on Longfields Drive in Barrhaven.March 29: Paul Scott Landymore, killed on Primrose Avenue East near Chinatown.
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