Stories of Murder in Toronto's Gay Village
Auctioneer Chadwick Francis, 37, was murdered in his home in the Greenwood and Mortimer Avenues. On August 6, 2020, police were called to his home, where they found his body. He may have been dead for several days, and although police are calling it a homicide, they are not yet releasing the cause of death. … Read more
On May 1, 2000, police discovered the body of antique dealer Neil Parker, 49, three days after he had been murdered in his apartment. Residents had called to complaint about a foul odour. His live-in partner, Christopher Partak, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Parker, found in a bathtub at their 77 Maitland … 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
Early on Sunday, September 6, 1987, police went to a house on Miller Street in the Davenport and Weston Roads area of Toronto. A woman had telephoned to say they would find a body there, the Toronto Star reported. In a basement apartment they found Marlene Ann Collins, 34, with a plastic grocery bag tied … 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
Eleven months after the stabbing, Assistant Crown Attorney Karen Dunlop told an Ontario Supreme Court jury that on the night of December 20, 1984, Joyce Lorraine Filshie banged on a neighbour’s door and cried, “Come quickly! I’ve stabbed Phil!” Dunlop said Joyce had blood on her hands and that a bloodstained knife lay on the … Read more
Police were called to a ninth-floor apartment on Gilder Drive in Scarborough at about 11 p.m. on Friday, January 6, 1984. The Toronto Star reported later that they found Christine Clifford, 29, with several stab wounds in her abdomen. Alanna (Maume) Smith, 25, who lived in the apartment, was unconscious on the couch. Clifford was … Read more
The day after Martha Babb died, David Thomas Muir stopped a friend on the street, the Toronto Sun reported. Sergeant Neale Tweedy of Metro police later testified to what Muir said: that “he had killed a girl and she was in his bathtub.” The friend phoned police. Officers went to the apartment and found the … 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
Early on Sunday, March 18, 1979, James Francis McIntyre was stabbed repeatedly in the head and body with a 10½-inch knife. Police arrested his roommate at the scene, in the Gerrard St. E.–Sackville St. area, and charged him with attempted murder. McIntyre died at Wellesley Hospital 13½ hours after the stabbing, the Toronto Star reported. … Read more