Son charged with second-degree murder after elderly woman found dead in Sandy Hill
A 29-year-old Ottawa man has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of his mother, the city’s 11th homicide of 2017.
Patrol officers discovered the body of Rachel Mair in an apartment building at 85 Range Rd., at the intersection of Templeton Street, after a 5:30 a.m. call to police about a “disturbance.” Paramedics said she had died of “traumatic injuries.”
Her son, Steven Mair, was arrested and taken from the scene in stable condition. After spending the early part of the day describing the death in Sandy Hill as suspicious, police on Friday afternoon confirmed that it was a homicide.
Mair, wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants, appeared at 4 p.m. in an Ottawa courtroom, where he was charged. Outside the courtroom, his lawyer, Jenny McKnight, called the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death “sad,” but said she had few details about the case. Asked if there was a mental health component, McKnight said, “That’s something I will explore.”