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Serial killer responsible for murders of 3 women in Toronto in 1980s and ’90s: police
Forensic DNA testing identified Kenneth Smith as the killer of three women in Toronto during the 1980s and 1990s, linking cold cases previously unsolved by police.
- At a Thursday news conference, Toronto police announced Kenneth Smith has been identified as the killer of three women from the 1980s and 1990s, The Canadian Press reported Dec. 11, 2025.
- After DNA ties established in 2016 and 2017, detectives linked cold cases, but Investigative Genetic Genealogy in 2025 helped police identify a possible offender from scene DNA.
- Police described the victims: Christine Prince, 25, last seen June 21, 1982, found June 22, 1982 in the Rouge River after assault; Claire Sampson, 23, picked up Sept. 1, 1983, found in Oro-Medonte; Gracelyn Greenidge, 41, found July 29, 1997, stabbed in her Toronto apartment.
- Police warned that Smith's death in 2019 means he cannot be prosecuted, though investigators believe there could be more victims and say he lived and worked in Toronto with a history of sexual assault.
- Detectives said the long probe required years of effort and no national DNA databank matches, but recent forensic testing produced a 'trillion to one' DNA match using Investigative Genetic Genealogy.
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DNA breakthroughs bring answers, justice for victims, UWindsor prof says
The identification of a man police believe is responsible for three homicides in Toronto in the 1980s and 90s is about more than just breakthroughs in DNA technology, says a professor of criminology at the University of Windsor.
·Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources37
Leaning Left23Leaning Right0Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution79% Left
Bias Distribution
- 79% of the sources lean Left
79% Left
L 79%
C 21%
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