Warning: This story contains graphic details. 

A 14-year-old boy who fatally stabbed an 83-year-old great-grandmother outside her home in Pickering, Ont., last May confessed to a psychologist after his arrest that he had felt an “urge to kill in the weeks before the murder.”

In an Oshawa courtroom on Thursday, friends and family of Eleanor Doney, the victim, learned that the teen, whose name is protected by a publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, exhibited a disturbing fascination with topics like sociopathy, psychopaths, serial killers, and methods of killing leading up to the random attack.

The teenager appeared in a blue suit and glasses from the prisoner’s box and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder while his parents watched from the second row.

On May 29, 2025, at around 3:05 p. m., Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) responded to a report of trouble at a residence on Lynn Heights Drive in Pickering. Upon arrival, officers found an elderly woman lying outside her house with severe injuries to her neck and face. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she could not be saved.

According to a statement read in court, Eleanor Doney suffered eight stab wounds on her lower back, hands, arm, face and neck. The most serious injury was a stab wound through her neck that severed both her spinal artery and carotid artery.

Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from a nearby house showing Doney raking leaves shortly before she was attacked at approximately 2:55 p. m. The video captured the boy approaching down Lynn Heights Drive while wearing gloves and carrying a briefcase with his face concealed by a mask.

He paused near Doney’s home for about two minutes as they conversed. At 2:58 p. m., he returned to his briefcase, pulled out a knife, approached Doney from behind on her left side and stabbed her in the neck.

Doney stumbled back and tried to run towards her home but was quickly caught by the teen who then stabbed her again in both the back and neck from behind.

Doney fell onto the sidewalk where he continued stabbing her repeatedly in the face before grabbing his briefcase and fleeing east along Lynn Heights Drive. She remained on the ground until someone passing by saw her at around 3:02 p. m. and called for help.

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She had stopped breathing upon arrival at hospital and never regained consciousness. Paramedics pronounced her dead shortly thereafter.

The police identified the suspect later thanks to school staff who recognized him from surveillance footage. He had been suspended just one day prior for five days due to bringing a knife onto school grounds. Authorities arrested him at home around 8:22 p. m., following a walk that took him roughly 53 minutes between where he committed the crime and his residence.

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The police located what they believe is the knife used during this attack after noticing on one of their videos that as he crossed Finch Avenue into Guild Road’s wooded area he briefly bent down. Investigators found this weapon there shortly thereafter.

A search warrant executed at his home uncovered clothing believed worn during or right after these events along with items from Cuisinart’s knife set missing one knife which also held fingerprints of the teenager on its packaging.

Additionally seized were cellphones and computers taken from his bedroom; authorities also interviewed another youth who played online games with him via Discord chat application within their gaming community.

“The Discord chats provided to police are all from May 2025,” Crown attorney Tammi D’Eri stated during court proceedings. “They reveal (the teen) had an interest in psychopathy, killing and serial killers.”

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D’Eri read aloud evidence indicating that discussions within these chats included “planning killings,” evading capture for such acts while expressing confidence he’d avoid consequences unlike other serial killers discussed there; even mentioned thoughts about harming animals or contemplating killing family members like his grandmother.”

A phone seized revealed photos taken near an intersection close-roughly two hundred meters-to where Doney lived just two weeks ahead of this tragic event alongside video footage showcasing steak knives comparable directly resembling those seized previously which belonged ultimately connected back only dated May twenty-eighth when found officially confiscated at school prior occurring violent incident itself.” .(/m)/O