 Iliada Zois, seen here in a photo taken from her Facebook profile, and her younger brother Jamie were found brutally murdered on Boxing Day at her apartment. A second boy survived the ordeal. (HO)
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A 16-year-old boy barely escaped with his life after being held for more than 24 hours in a blood-soaked Rexdale apartment where two of his relatives -- a 22-year-old woman and her 14-year-old brother -- were butchered Christmas Day.
Toronto Police said they only learned of the horrific tale when the teen stumbled into 23 Division around 7 p.m. on Boxing Day, bleeding from apparent knife wounds and telling officers there were two people dead just up the street in a second-floor apartment at 2737 Kipling Ave.
Officers responded immediately to the highrise a block north of Finch Ave. W. and found the brutally slain bodies of Iliada Zois and a teenage boy.
"It's one of the bloodier scenes I've seen in my career," Homicide Det.-Sgt. Gary Grinton said yesterday of the apartment where the city's 83rd and 84th murder victims of the year were discovered.
"Especially when you have a 14-year-old victim on Christmas, it's a little unnerving," the veteran cop added.
Grinton refused to name either of the teenage boys and was vague about the relationships of the four people involved. He would only say the grisly murders were "domestic in nature." The woman's common-law husband will be charged in the murders.
Sun sources confirmed the dead boy was Iliada's younger brother, Jamie Zois, and that the surviving boy was related to the victims.
Grinton said the teen boys were visiting the apartment Tuesday to celebrate Christmas with Iliada, known to her family and friends as Lois, and her common-law husband.
At some point an altercation erupted that led to the fatal assaults, Grinton said.
The 16-year-old boy was held against his will until he somehow escaped the next night. After walking down the street to the police station a block away at Kipling and Finch, the youth was taken to hospital, treated and released early yesterday.
"He's now home recuperating with his family," Grinton said.
SECOND-DEGREE MURDER
When officers arrived at the apartment, the common-law husband was nowhere to be found.
However, Grinton said the man called police around 6 a.m. yesterday and subsequently surrendered.
He was also bleeding at the time of his arrest and underwent surgery in a Toronto hospital soon after, but his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Nana Yaw will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of forcible confinement, Grinton said. The accused is expected to make a court appearance today.
The couple's apartment remained under police guard yesterday and the bodies remained inside as investigators waited for a search warrant.
Neighbours said they did not know Iliada or her spouse, and many it seems spent Christmas elsewhere so they were completely unaware of what had happened.
GRIEF-STRICKEN
Iliada and Jamie's family was too grief-stricken to talk about their loss, but information gleaned from the brother and sister's Facebook pages suggests they grew up in Scarborough with two other siblings, both boys. It seems they also leave behind two half sisters.
Iliada, who lists her relationship status as, "It's complicated," studied child psychology at Centennial College but was apparently working at Wal-Mart.
Numerous friends began leaving messages on the wall of the young woman's Facebook page yesterday morning saying that they missed her already.
And a separate page created on Facebook later in the day in memory of Iliada and Jamie was also filling up with heartfelt postings.
