Serial Killer in Canada Caught After 39 Years Using Genetic Technology

Two Women Brutally Murdered in Toronto in 1983
Narrowed Down Suspects by DNA... True Culprit Never Identified as a Suspect

Toronto police report on the 28th that they have apprehended the suspect in the murder case that occurred in 1983. Photo by AP·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] The true culprit of a Canadian serial murder case, which was on the verge of becoming a permanent cold case, was caught after 39 years. The charges were proven as DNA analysis technology advanced.

According to The Guardian on the 28th (local time), Canadian judicial authorities recently arrested Joseph George Sutherland (61) in Ontario and charged him with first-degree murder for brutally killing two women in Toronto in 1983.

Sutherland is accused of breaking into the homes of Erin Gilmore (then 22) and Susan Tice (45) in 1983, sexually assaulting them, and then killing them with a weapon. At the time, no evidence was found at the scene to identify a suspect, so the case remained a long-term cold case.

However, as DNA analysis technology advanced beyond the 1990s, many cases secured decisive clues from evidence that previously held little significance. The police investigating the case sent DNA samples found at the scene in 1999 to a genetic testing laboratory in Texas, USA. The police narrowed down the suspect list by tracing family trees backward based on information about people with genetic traits similar to the DNA found at the scene.

Eventually, the police conducted a full DNA comparison with Sutherland and proved his guilt. The police emphasized that Sutherland had never been identified as a suspect initially, and without DNA analysis technology, they would not have been able to arrest him. They also stated that they will investigate whether Sutherland is connected to other unsolved cases.