The family of a 67-year-old widower stabbed to death in the Scarborough apartment where he had shared with his late wife for almost two decades says they’re grief-stricken and upset to learn that the suspect charged with his murder was out on bail.
“She definitely shouldn’t have been out on bail, definitely not,” Jesse Dawson, Robert Dawson’s son, said after being notified by Global News of the suspect’s prior charges.
Natasha Maccallum, 42, was arrested at 4301 Kingston Rd. and charged with second-degree murder after Robert was found with fatal stab wounds inside his 20th-floor apartment just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Robert’s son said he knew Maccallum had been living with his father for a few weeks after his father offered to take her in.
“Apparently, this Natasha was homeless and she needed somewhere to go and the way my dad is, he is very caring and giving and he offered her a place to stay,” Jesse said.
Court documents obtained by Global News reveal that on June 24, 2025, Maccallum was charged with assault with a weapon. The alleged victim was a man.
Maccallum was released on her own bail with no court-ordered supervision. A condition of her release was that she stay away from the Lawrence Avenue East address where the assault happened.
On June 27, Maccallum allegedly returned to the Lawrence Avenue East address she was forbidden from going to and threatened to kill another man. Maccallum was released on her own bail later that day. As a condition of her release, she was ordered to reside at an address approved by the Bail Supervision Program and not possess any weapons.
“If my father had known this stuff, he wouldn’t have had this lady come and stay with him and try to help her out,” Jesse said.
He said his father believed Maccallum had stolen his cellphone and was trying to get her to move out.
“He was very upset about that because on that phone were recordings of my mother that he used to listen to all the time and hear her voice,” Jesse explained.
Jesse’s mother died last November of natural causes at the age of 65. He said his parents met with his father was 14 and his mother was 12, and that he is now struggling to deal with the death of both parents.
“To lose both parents in less than a year, especially to lose my father this way, I never thought it would happen. It’s very, very devastating to me,” Jesse said.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses for Robert.