A man is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a university student Thursday in a west Ottawa apartment.
Keith Ru, 25, is to appear in a city courtroom this morning in connection with the murder of student Jai Le Zhao. Cops arrived at a Meadowlands Dr. apartment complex early Thursday morning to find Zhao dead in a third-storey unit.
Ru was arrested at the scene.
An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of Zhao's death.
Neighbours told the Sun the two were roomates. Shortly after 3 a.m., on Thursday several tenants awoke to screams.
“I heard screaming, yelling and commotion,” said Kyle Soikie, who lives on the second floor. He said he looked out his window to see what was going on, but didn’t immediately see anything.
Zhao was found with lacerations to his neck and face, as well as head trauma, said sources. He was found lying in a pool of blood, and a bloody knife was seized nearby. The half-naked suspect, with a bloody face, was arrested at the scene.
Ottawa police Insp. Don Sweet said the suspect was treated and released at hospital for non-life threatening injuries from the altercation.
Building resident Hicham El Idrissi said the students had only lived at the place since the start of the school year.
“They seemed to be very calm, nice people,” said El Idrissi. “It was very shocking. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news.”
Neighbours said loud partying and noise had become more of an issue lately but nothing like this.
“It’s always crazy, it’s always loud,” said tenant Macarius Abadeer, who said the building was calmer a decade ago.
Police spent much of Thursday trying to track down Zhao's next of kin.
This is Ottawa's seventh homicide of 2012.