Stories of Murder in Toronto's Gay Village
Akim Fleming and his partner Rajiv Ralph were murdered on February 27, 2024 near their 111 Hickory Tree Road home. Both men were shot in the early morning hours. A black SUV, or possibly 2 vehicles, were seen fleeing the scene. The two men were shot at around 4:40 a.m. just 500 metres from their … Read more
At 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2000, a Toronto police cruiser spotted a black 1998 Volvo near police headquarters at Bay and College streets. The Toronto Star reported that the driver ran when he saw the cruiser. Officers stopped him a few blocks away, at Toronto General Hospital, at University Avenue and Gerrard Street … Read more
On Friday night, May 30, 1997, a lawyer directed investigators from the Metro police homicide squad to an apartment. In the bathroom they found the body of James Edward Detzler, 54. The lawyer acted for Steven Todd Craig, 26, of Dundas Street East. The apartment was Craig’s home, the Globe and Mail later reported. Craig … Read more
On Monday, January 29, 1996, Les Aykler went to check on the superintendent of his family’s apartment building at College Street and Roxton Road, just east of Ossington Avenue. Tenants had last seen Clayton Russell on Saturday. Aykler had spoken to him that day too. Now neither the residents nor the realty firm could reach … Read more
At about 5:30 on the morning of Saturday, February 26, 1994, Dr. Stephen Kirby left an after-hours club on St. Joseph Street in downtown Toronto. Just before, he had been involved in a minor confrontation with another man inside the club, Metro police said. Outside, he was knocked to the ground and kicked in the … Read more
At about 10 a.m. on Friday, October 27, 1989, Metro police were called to an 11th-floor apartment at 800 Richmond Street West to investigate a “person who was ill,” the Toronto Star reported. Ambulance attendant Annie Cavally later testified about what she and her partner found. “He was cold,” she said. “He was very pale. … Read more
Twenty-two-year-old David Madden was an X-ray technician at a chiropractic clinic who had moved into a new Scarborough apartment just three weeks before his death. On March 19, 1988, Michael Edwin Linhart, 29, stabbed Madden 64 times including in the heart. His body was found by his roommate in their Prudential Drive apartment. Police said … Read more
A fight over which side of the floor cushions they would sleep on, cost Charles Robert Welbanks, 38, his life. Welbanks’ on-and-off lover of eight years, John Ralph Taylor, 46, stabbed him four times in the heart over the dispute on February 6, 1988. Welbanks, whom police thought was a woman because of the clothing … Read more
Allan Charles North, 54, was found murdered seven to ten day after his death on approximately May 3, 1987. North was a hairdresser, and his body was found in the back of his hairdressing salon, the House of North at 398 Dundas St. East. A postmortem examination showed he died of asphyxia. North lived with … Read more
Former Alderman and accountant Donald William Weir died on April 5, 1983. He was found naked in his bathtub with more than 40 injuries. A banana had been shoved in his mouth. Weir, 50, was found by firefighters who had rushed to his apartment in response to a security staff person’s call: a fire alarm … Read more
Twenty-four-year-old Torontonian Charles Edward Palmer was shot in the head and chest with a .22 calibre rifle at his family cottage on Bob Lake near Minden, Ontario. He bled to death. Several rifles, a gold bracelet and his wallet were stolen. Palmer, who lived on Shier Drive in Scarborough, was found lying dead on a … Read more
On Saturday night, March 19, 1983, Graham Hugh Pearce went out with a friend. They had a drink at Boots, a gay bar, and went on to Stages, a disco on Yonge Street. The Body Politic reported that they danced until 3:15 a.m., walked up Yonge to Wellesley Street and parted there at 3:30. Pearce … Read more
David Murphy, 61, was found dead in his bedroom at Brimley Acres, a senior citizens’ apartment building at 2950 Lawrence Avenue East in Scarborough, on Monday, June 29, 1981. The Toronto Star reported that the superintendent found him after Murphy did not answer his phone. The Body Politic reported that police found the body just … Read more
On Monday, April 9, 1979, David Albert Manship went to a Toronto lawyer. The information he gave led police to the body of James MacDonald. MacDonald, 35, had been shot once with a sawed-off .22-calibre rifle. The Globe and Mail reported that he was found in Manship’s apartment on King Street West. The Toronto Star … Read more
On Saturday, July 15, 1967, a farmer named Antonio De Freitas found a body in one of his fields near Markham. It was a young man, naked, lying in grass three feet high. The coroner, Dr. Ralph Johns, examined the body where it lay. He said the death “might well be a murder,” the Globe … Read more