Tracking a Killer: The Cold Case Files

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection calls it case fraught with a lot of sadness. 16-year-old high school student Mistie Murray disappeared from Goderich, Ontario on May 31st, 1995. Her adoptive father was charged with murder. He was acquitted in 1997. Mistie has never been found.

Michael Nigris was shot and killed in the Oshawa, Ontario plaza parking lot where he worked on March 30th, 2023. Durham Regional Police say they have been able to locate two individuals they believe were involved in his murder, but there have never been any arrests in this case. His sister says this is not going to be a cold case and they will exhaust every resource they have to get justice.

15-year-old Sharmini Anandavel left her Toronto apartment on June 12, 1999 after telling her parents she was headed out to see about a new job. She never returned. Months later her remains were found in Finch East Park. Police had a suspect early on, but there has never been an arrest in this case.

Unidentified human remains were discovered on July 16, 1980, in the area of Steeles  and Concession in Markham. For over 40 years the identity of the person was unknown, but with the use of genetic genealogy the remains were identified in 2023 as belonging to William Pennell. The 26-year-old had escaped from a correctional facility in Kingston.

21-year-old Patrick Santos’ body was found in the backyard of his father’s Scarborough, Ontario home on September 17, 2006. His hands and feet were bound and tape was wrapped around his head. Police say he had been beaten and suffocated. His mother is looking for answers all these years later and still seeks justice for her son.

24-year-old Alberta Williams from Vancouver, British Columbia disappeared in August of 1989 after being out with friends at a bar in Prince Rupert where she had been doing some seasonal work. Three weeks after her disappearance her body was found  on Highway 16. A missing person's case became a homicide.

See it. Say it. Stop it. The Crime Stoppers program offers anonymity to anyone providing information of significant use or leading to an arrest, but how effective is it when it comes to cold cases? In this bonus episode we talk to Sean Sportun, Chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers who says the program is 100 per cent relevant.

In January of 1998, 29-year-old Hamilton, Ontario resident Sheryl Sheppard disappeared. Police say it is like she vanished off the face of the earth. The last person to see her was her fiancé Michael Lavoie. According to investigators he had dropped her off at an adult entertainment club in Niagara Falls. In this episode we talk to Sheryl's mother who has never given up on trying to find out what happened to her daughter and to the detective working on this 25-year-old cold case.

In August of 2010, 42-year-old Orangeville, Ontario nurse Sonia Varaschin was reported missing after she did not show up for work. Her body was found days later in a wooded area in nearby Caledon. Her killer has never been found. Police say they have received more than 1,500 tips from the public, but continue to search for the “one piece of information that will lead to an arrest.” In this episode we talk to the investigator working on this unsolved homicide and to one of Sonia's old friends who is still asking, “Who could have done this?”

In November of 1982, the body of 25-year-old Delia Adriano was found in a wooded area in Milton, Ontario. The Oakville woman had been reported missing by her family more than month earlier after she was dropped off in front of her home, but never made it inside. Her killer remains at large. In this episode we talk to her sister who tells us she is still waiting for answers and for justice.

In May of 2018, 37-year-old Matthew Staikos was at a late business dinner in Toronto's Yorkville area. When the young entrepreneur came out of the restaurant with a colleague someone jumped out of a silver Mercedes and shot Staikos from behind in what police describe as an ambush. Investigators have not been able to find that gunman. In this episode we talk to Matthew Staikos' brother and to the private investigator the family has hired to try to find answers.

In the fall of 2006, the remains of a woman were found in a field in Durham Region. They had been there for up to 10 years. Police have not been able to identify her or what happened to her. She is known only as Jane Doe. In this episode we talk to the original investigator on this case and to the inspector who is currently working on getting this mystery solved.

In July of 1985, 8-year-old Nicole Morin left her apartment the Etobicoke area of Toronto to meet a friend for a swim, but somewhere between her apartment and the lobby she disappeared - never to be seen again. Police say they have received numerous tips over the years, but they have never been able to find her. In this episode we talk to the lead detective on this decades-old case.

In 1983, 45-year-old mother of four Susan Tice and 22-year-old aspiring fashion designer Erin Gilmour were sexually assaulted and stabbed to death within months of each other. For decades their killer eluded police but, advances in science and the use of genetic genealogy finally led investigators to a suspect they believe is responsible for their deaths. In this episode we find out how a cold case is now getting closer to becoming a closed case.

In October of 1988,  23 year old  Tatiana “Tania” Anikejew was found in her Toronto apartment by a friend and her parents days after she had been stabbed to death.  Her killer has never been found.  Tania's parents died before any arrest was ever made in this case,  but three of her friends have never given up on finding out the truth behind her violent death.  They share her story in this episode.(Episode updated on May 17th, 2023 for a pronunciation.)

CityNews reporters, Fil Martino and Madison Fitzpatrick hate the thought of cold cases gathering dust in police departments across the country. Together they’ve teamed up to take a closer look at the cases that refuse to crack, in an effort to track down Canada’s most violent perpetrators. Hear directly from the victims’ family, friends and detectives tasked with searching for answers.

In July of 2018, 28 year old Monica Chisar disappeared in Hamilton, Ontario. Her body was found on Christmas Eve the following year by a father and son walking through a wooded area over 100 kilometers away from where she was last seen alive. The killer remained at large for years, but in August of 2021 there was an arrest in this case. This is the story of how a cold case is now getting closer to becoming a closed case. 

In March 2004, 22 year old father of one Jayvien Piper was gunned down on his way home from an evening class in Scarborough, Ontario.  Investigators say they believe they know who is responsible, but they don't have enough evidence to make any arrests.

In March of 1959, 12 year old Patricia Lupton answered an ad about a babysitting job and then disappeared. Hours later she was found off a roadway in the Scarborough area of Toronto. She was suffering from injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.  Over 60 years later and still no one has been arrested in connection with  her death. 

In June of 1990, 22 year old University of Toronto student Elizabeth Bain disappeared. Her body has never been found, but police say it was a homicide. Elizabeth’s boyfriend Robert Baltovich was convicted of her murder. He spent eight years in prison before being deemed not guilty by the courts in 2008. Elizabeth Bain's killer remains at large.