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Vile act of vandalism hits Newmarket family of frontline workers

'Whatever was in that bottle is the most disgusting smell I’ve ever smelled in my entire life,' resident says of putrid substance poured in vehicle
2020 06 04 Goodyear College Manor DK
A vehicle parked on Goodyear Crescent in the College Manor neighbourhood was vandalized Tuesday night, June 3, in Newmarket. Debora Kelly/NewmarketToday

A Newmarket family of frontline health-care workers woke up to a vile act of violence yesterday morning they won’t soon forget.

Wednesday, June 3 started as it normally does with resident Jill Johnstone helping to get her granddaughter ready for daycare.

Johnstone’s adult son, who works in community care in Newmarket and the surrounding area, left about 8:30 a.m. to retrieve his vehicle from where it was parked around the corner on Goodyear Crescent due to construction and paving work in their area.

What the father of two found as he approached his vehicle stunned him. The windows had been smashed, the tires slashed, and a foul-smelling liquid from inside a water bottle had been poured all over the interior of the vehicle.

“The worst of it is that whatever was in that bottle is the most disgusting smell I’ve ever smelled in my entire life,” said Johnstone, who works in the emergency department at Mackenzie Health hospital in Richmond Hill. “It’s on the seat, it’s on the floor, it’s on my granddaughter’s car seat, it’s everywhere. The car is ruined. I don’t know how they’re going to fix the interior.”

The bottle that was left behind appeared to contain urine and fecal matter, Johnstone said, adding the family reported the vandalism incident to York Regional Police and their insurance company. Nothing was stolen and there was no damage to the body of the vehicle, she said.

A York Regional Police spokesperson said there were no reports of property damage in Newmarket for the 48 hours prior the incident.

The incident has rattled the local family, who have lived in the quiet College Manor Drive and Mulock Drive neighbourhood since 2006. Johnstone shared a few of the details on a Newmarket social media group to see if any other neighbours experienced vandalism recently.

Some commenters offered the view that the incident appears to be targeted, but Johnstone disagrees.

“There’s no reason why anyone would target my son or anyone in our family,” she said. “We’re just normal, regular people. All of us are frontline workers and we go to work and we come home and take care of the kids, and that’s all we ever do.”

The vehicle has been towed away, Johnstone’s son has a rental car for the time being, and her granddaughter has a new car seat.

The vandalism, however, remains a mystery. 

Johnstone said the police officer they spoke with on the phone, who followed up on their crime report, thought the putrid substance could have come from nearby portable toilets that have been installed for construction crews.

“Never have I ever had to deal with anything like this in all my life,” said Johnstone. “This is just a quiet neighbourhood.”

Editor's note: This article was edited on June 5, 2020 to remove some identifying information at the source's request.