A friend and roommate of Gregoria Alilio says she witnessed the 47-year-old’s fatal stabbing outside their North York apartment building and tried to intervene before seeing a knife.

In an interview with Omni News reported by CityNews, Melody Hernandez described the Oct. 31 attack and the distress she has experienced since. Police are investigating Alilio’s death as a case of intimate partner violence, CityNews reported. The man believed responsible also died by suicide during the incident.

Alilio, known to friends as Rhea, had moved in with Hernandez two weeks earlier. Around 4 p.m. that day, she returned from collecting belongings at her previous residence and texted Hernandez about a vehicle occupying her assigned parking space.

Hernandez replied that it belonged to her son-in-law. When a followup phone call went unanswered, she went to the balcony to check on her friend.

Hernandez told Omni News she saw Alilio calling for her to come downstairs, with a man standing beside the partly open driver’s door. She said she rushed down and found him choking Alilio. She intended to pull him away but stepped back after seeing a knife.

As the attack continued, Hernandez said she repeatedly tried to reach 911. She said four calls were met with an automated message indicating operators were busy before she eventually got through. That account is Hernandez’s description of her attempts to obtain help.

Hernandez said she went into shock when police arrived and approached the car with her.

“What I saw keeps replaying in my head. I can’t sleep,” she told Omni News. She remembered Alilio as a hard worker and a kind, dependable friend.

Police have not confirmed the relationship between Alilio and the attacker. Based on earlier conversations with her friend, Hernandez believes he was an ex-boyfriend subject to a restraining order following a previously reported assault.

Hernandez said Alilio had expressed fear that he might kill her.

According to CityNews, Alilio’s only relatives in Canada are an aunt and niece. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to return her remains to the Philippines, in accordance with her wishes, and support her family there.

Sources