A Canadian woman who fatally stabbed a newlywed as she shopped for nail polish has been released from a psychiatric hospital and is set to return to the community.
Rohinie Bisesar, 51, entered a Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto on December 11, 2015, carrying a small kitchen knife. Authorities said she stabbed 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor in the upper chest before fleeing on Toronto’s subway system.
After the attack, Junor made her way toward the pharmacy area, asking for help before collapsing inside the store. She received first aid at the scene and was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors performed emergency trauma surgery.
She later died from her injuries. Medical staff said the single stab wound pierced her heart.
Toronto police issued a wanted notice for Bisesar, who was arrested four days later.
Bisesar was tried on a murder charge, but the court found her not criminally responsible because of a long history of mental illness, including a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The board called the murder ‘shocking and brutal,’ adding, ‘The death of an unsuspecting stranger in the center of Toronto quietly going about some shopping strikes at all of society.’
Bisesar was ordered to live in a center for mental health services until 2021, where she was released into an outpatient facility.
Rohinie Bisesar, now 51, was arrested in 2015 for a fatal stabbing at a store in Toronto. She was found not criminally responsible due to an extensive history of mental illness and a schizophrenia diagnosis
Rosemarie Junor, 28, was a new bride when she was stabbed to death. She was shopping for nail polish when the attack unfolded
Junor was rushed to the hospital after the attack, where she underwent trauma surgery. She later died from a single stab wound that penetrated her heart
The Ontario Review Board has been monitoring her medical treatment. Bisesar’s psychiatrist testified to the board that he did not believe she was a threat to the public.
‘The patient’s insight is mature. It is strong. She understands the permanent need for medication and treatment. Ms. Bisesar has dealt with adversity, loss, disappointment and transitions in an exemplary fashion,’ the board wrote.
‘She has a supportive family. Her family and the patient are both well attuned to what symptoms may look like if they were to re-emerge. There is a sound safety plan in place.’
The board acknowledged that Junor’s death was a ‘tragedy’ that ‘cannot be undone and will always be on our minds,’ but argued that Bisesar was deserving of an absolute discharge.
An absolute discharge in Canada occurs when an offender is found guilty, but no conviction is registered, and the offender is officially finished with their case.
It stays on their criminal record for a year. Canadian authorities can still see the offense if the offender commits another crime.
The decision marks the end of a shocking case that rocked the country. Bisesar had an impressive resume at investment firms and was only 4’11” and 85 pounds when she fatally stabbed Junor.
Her LinkedIn listed her as an advisor and investor starting in November 2014. She also worked as a corporate consultant and the CEO of a private mining company, according to her online resume.
The Ontario Review Board said that she was in psychosis when she committed the crime. She had a psychiatric history of treatment for delusional disorder and chronic paranoid schizophrenia.
Bisesar was a former financier and had an impressive resume before the brutal stabbing
Junor was given CPR from pharmacy workers before she was transported to a local hospital, where she later died
Toronto Police issued an alert for Biesar before she was arrested for murder. She was found not criminally responsible during her murder trial
Bisesar was not on antipsychotic medication and was experiencing auditory hallucinations at the time of the attack.
She said a voice in her head, called the ‘entity,’ convinced her to get the knife, telling her ‘What is the worst thing you can do?’ according to the facts of the case.
She also had a history of mental illness and was hospitalized after threatening her parents with arson a year before the stabbing. She had lost her job and broken up with her boyfriend.
The review board said she was ‘floridly psychotic, untreated and desperately unwell at that time.’
After years in a psychiatric facility, Bisesar was released on a conditional discharge in 2023. She was allowed to live in independent housing, but was still under the care of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Bisesar is now on two antipsychotic medications. She will continue to participate in a Psychosis Coordinated Care Service and will be monitored by her family.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Bisesar’s attorney for comment.
