WARNING: The following article and video contains content that some might find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.
Earlier this month, Toronto Police and the OPP made a major announcement: investigators had confirmed the identity of a serial killer responsible for the cold-case murders of three women in the 1980s and 90s.
Using an emerging forensic technique known as investigative genetic genealogy, police identified the previously unknown predator as Kenneth Smith, who died in Windsor in 2019.
Police suspect there may be more victims, and are asking anyone who may have known Smith to come forward.
Det.-Sgt. Steve Smith of the Toronto Police cold case unit was a guest this week on our Closer Look podcast. He spoke about the three victims — Christine Prince, Claire Samson and Gracelyn Greenidge — and explained how investigators were able to finally close in on their killer using cutting-edge DNA technology.
“Both the OPP and our investigators, they wanted nothing more than to solve this case, just because it was so unique,” he said. “It was three vulnerable women minding their own business, and all three were taken, sexually assaulted and murdered viciously. So when we were able to actually say 100 per cent that Kenneth Smith was our offender, it was unbelievable for our investigators. Everybody was just so happy.”
Smith said police would have obviously preferred that the killer was still alive, allowing him to be charged and put on trial. But he said it’s equally important that the victims’ loved ones finally know who was responsible — even though the why remains a mystery.
“We debate that in our office all the time: what these people are thinking,” Smith said. “Are they able to sleep at night? I mean, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Have they just put this out of their mind like it never actually happened to them? Or are they thinking about it every time they go to bed? Do they live this every day or have they just put this completely out of their mind?”
You can watch the full episode HERE.
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