A 20-year-old Richmond Hill man has been charged with first-degree murder after his father was found dead in their home on Friday.

York Regional Police and local paramedics were called to a home on Valleymede Dr., near Bayview Ave. and Hwy. 7, shortly after noon on Friday to assist an injured person. They found a 62-year old man dead.

The latest incident followed a spike in alleged cases of what is known as “parricide” — the killing of a parent or close relative — in Greater Toronto.

Three of Peel region’s 13 homicides this year involved accused who were children of the victims; the two murders in Halton in 2015 are both alleged cases of parricide while three residents in Durham were charged and faced similar allegations. Toronto, by comparison, has had two such alleged incidents this year.

RELATED:Earlier list of GTA parricides

In the most recent case in York Region, police arrested the suspect at the victim’s residence. He was formally charged, appeared in the Newmarket court and remained in custody on Saturday. His next court appearance is Jan. 6.

Police have refused to reveal the names of the suspect or the deceased under what they say is a court-ordered publication ban.

“We are not releasing the names or the address at any point,” said York Region Police spokesperson Constable Laura Nicolle. “There are witnesses involved who are family members also, and we have an obligation to protect their identity.”

It is not yet clear how the victim died or who the witnesses are. A post-mortem is scheduled for the weekend.

On Saturday, the victim’s home was still guarded by police and cordoned off with yellow tapes. Neighbours said they didn’t know the family well but described them as “friendly.”

With files from Wendy Gillis and Peter Goffin

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