Ottawa police investigating first femicide of 2025; murder charge laid

Police released the identity of the woman who was killed in Lowertown late afternoon on Tuesday, saying it was a femicide.

Officers responded to Henry Street at 4:38 p.m. on April 1. They stated at the time that one person is in custody, and the investigation is ongoing, with no public risk.

Early Wednesday morning, police identified the victim as Renee Descary, 51, of Ottawa.

“A femicide is generally defined 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,” the press release reads.

Oliver Denia, 24, of Ottawa, was charged with second-degree murder. He is set to appear in court on April 2.

This is the seventh homicide in the city this year.

An epidemic in Ottawa

According to the force’s numbers, last year, officers responded to 6,636 intimate partner violence incidents, 89 more than they did in 2023.

The number of incidents in 2024 resulted in 3,355 charges, which OPS notes in a press release could change due to several cases still being under investigation

The majority (79 per cent) of victims killed in Ottawa are female, followed by 20.5 per cent male and 0.5 per cent were unknown.

Officials say police prioritized tackling violence against women last year by starting the risk navigator, a person reviewing cases of intimate partner violence. OPS also became the first police service in Canada to use the term “femicide” to describe the killing of a woman or girl.