Giovanna Balestrieri, an 84-year-old woman, has been identified as the victim of a fatal fire in Toronto's Annex neighborhood on Saturday night. Authorities are now treating the incident as a homicide, according to police reports released on Monday.

Detective Sergeant Trevor Grieve stated that investigators have obtained video footage showing a suspect setting fire to Balestrieri's home. "If I’m going to be candid, this was a tragic and senseless act," Grieve said. He described the act as "cowardly and deplorable" and extended condolences to Balestrieri's family, who were traveling to the city from outside the Greater Toronto Area.

While Grieve could not confirm a motive, he emphasized that the incident was targeted. "This is definitely a targeted incident. A targeted event," he said, based on the video evidence. However, he noted that it remains unclear whether the house or Balestrieri herself was the intended target.

Balestrieri was the sole owner of the house, which had been in her family for over two decades. Emergency crews responded to the fire on Boswell Avenue shortly after 11 p.m. and found the home engulfed in flames. During a search-and-rescue operation, firefighters discovered Balestrieri alone on the second floor. She was transported to the hospital but later succumbed to fire-related injuries.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that her death was due to injuries sustained in the fire. The investigation escalated to a suspected homicide after the fire marshal and investigators determined that there was a criminal element involved.

Grieve mentioned that police would not release the video of the alleged arson but described the suspect as wearing dark clothing. The footage shows the individual approaching the house, followed by an explosion and the suspect fleeing the scene shortly thereafter.

Toronto Fire Services reported that the fire did not spread to neighboring properties. The house remained cordoned off with crime scene tape on Monday afternoon. Neighbors described the rapid escalation of the fire, with one resident, Mike Anderson, noting, "We went from a little bit of smoke to flames shooting out, racing up the side of the home."

Rabbi Meir Dubrawsky, who leads the Yorkville Jewish Centre nearby, remembered Balestrieri as a vibrant member of the community. He often saw her walking or shopping and described her as "always very bubbly, a beautiful woman."

Other residents recalled Balestrieri's stylishness and her past as a model in Paris. They noted that she had a son who frequently visited her. Some neighbors reported seeing security footage of the suspect running away from the scene on Saturday night.

This incident marks the 36th homicide in Toronto for 2025 and brings the total number of fire fatalities in the city this year to 15, according to Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop. The investigation is ongoing, with the Ontario Fire Marshal and Toronto police actively involved in gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.