VIDEO: 'Detectives will turn over every rock' in homicide probe

A Sault Police spokesperson says detectives will "turn over every rock" to determine what happened to Taylor Marshall, the 22-year-old woman found murdered inside a John Street apartment on Thursday.

In a press conference held Saturday, Sault Police spokesperson Lincoln Louttit updated media on the investigation, centred around a multi-residence building at 185 John St. in the city’s west end.

He confirmed that the case has been deemed a homicide, the first in Sault Ste. Marie this year. Police have named Marshall as the victim in the case by request of her family.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover funeral and other costs.

"Taylor was loved by all, her smile was contagious and her personality always shined through in her acts of kindness towards her family and those she loved," the GoFundMe page reads. "Taylor was incredibly outgoing and had an amazing sense of humor."

The initial 911 call came in to dispatch around 5 p.m. on Thursday, informing police there was a deceased person found in one of the units in the building.

“When a call comes in and the victim is found deceased officers are unable to conduct a search at that time — there needs to be a search warrant that is applied for,” said Louttit. “We can release that obviously the victim sustained significant injuries and that is why it has been deemed a homicide.”

A search of the residence was conducted Friday by the department’s Forensics Unit and Marshall’s body was removed from the scene Saturday morning.

A significant presence of police officers remains in the area as they search for evidence and continue to canvas the neighbourhood.

Those resources include the Technological Crime Unit, who are seeking doorbell camera and dash cam footage taken in the area prior to 5 p.m. Thursday.

“If anybody has anything from that day they are urged to contact police,” said Louttit.

Time of death, nature of injuries and cause of death are still under investigation, said Louttit, as is a possible suspect.

He said at this time there is no indication the homicide is related to a serious assault that happened on Sault Ste. Marie’s boardwalk earlier in the day on Thursday.

“At this time there is no reason to believe that they are connected, but obviously detectives will turn over every rock to determine what took place and if they are connected,” said Louttit. “There’s no reason to believe there is a risk to the public, but detectives are doing everything they can to determine what took place here so we can provide more info to the community.”

The past week has been a difficult one for the police service, with a homicide investigation, serious assault downtown, a fatal head-on collision and a fatal motorcycle collision that resulted in the death of one of the department’s own members.

“There has been a number of incidents that have been public, a number of deaths, but also a number of incidents that haven’t been released to the public yet that have been commanding police resources,” said Louttit. “Our detectives have been out basically every single night this week doing what they can to solve the occurrences that have taken place.”

He also noted this week has been difficult on the public as a whole.

“The events of the last week have obviously shaken the community members,” he said.