Toronto Cold Case Murders: Police Identify Suspect in 3 Women’s Killings, Warn More Victims Possible
Toronto police say a Canadian man who died in 2019 has now been identified as the suspect in three long-unsolved homicides, and investigators believe there may be additional victims.
Toronto police announced Thursday that new forensic testing and genetic genealogy work conclusively identified Kenneth Smith, 72, of Windsor, Ontario, as the person linked to the killings of two women in the 1980s and a third woman in the 1990s. Investigators said the advancement marks a major step in cases that remained open for decades.
Police said the first victim, 25-year-old Christine Prince, was found dead on June 22, 1982, in the Rouge River in Toronto. Investigators reported she had been sexually assaulted and suffered head injuries. Authorities said the second victim, 23-year-old Claire Samson, was found dead with gunshot wounds on Sept. 1, 1983, in Oro-Medonte Township. The third victim, 41-year-old Gracelyn Greenidge, died after suffering blunt-force trauma and was found in her Toronto apartment on July 29, 1997.
Investigators said Smith lived and worked in Toronto during the period connected to the homicides. Police also said he was known to law enforcement at the time and had a history of sexual assault. Based on the evidence now available, detectives said they believe it is possible there are more victims who have not been identified.
Genetic genealogy has increasingly been used in recent years to help solve cold cases by narrowing down unknown suspects through family connections. Investigators can create a DNA profile and compare it against public DNA databases, looking for relatives who may appear in those systems. Those matches can help build a family tree and guide further forensic comparison work to reach an identification.
“This case had haunted our office,” Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Steve Smith said in a social media video released Thursday, while describing the years of investigative effort behind the announcement.
Det. Sgt. Smith also emphasized how new tools are changing what is possible for older investigations. “It’s amazing,” he said, adding that cases once considered unsolvable may now be within reach as technology improves.
Ontario Provincial Police Chief Supt. Karen Gonneau said investigators reviewed multiple unsolved homicides as DNA methods advanced. Police said it was not until 2017 that they were able to link a suspect profile to all three victims, and later work helped confirm Smith’s identity.
Det. Sgt. Smith said investigators were able to identify close relatives of the offender through genetic genealogy. With that information, forensic experts then conducted a final comparison that led to what police described as a conclusive identification.
Police said Smith was never investigated for these murders previously. Det. Sgt. Smith also said the suspect had been jailed at least once before the first two murders and twice before Greenidge’s death.
With the identification now confirmed, investigators said they are continuing to review other files and tips. “Based on the evidence we have today we believe it is possible that there may be additional victims who have never been identified,” Det. Sgt. Smith said.
Other high-profile cases involving serial violence have also made headlines in Canada in recent months. Earlier this year, authorities said the remains of two Indigenous women murdered by convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki were located in a landfill in central Canada. In October 2024, a woman described by police as a serial killer was arrested in suburban Toronto and charged with three murders spanning three days. In May 2024, convicted Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton—who was linked to a series of killings near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s—died after being assaulted in prison.
