Stories of Murder in Toronto's Gay Village
Cassandra Do had arranged to meet her brother and sister on the evening of Monday, August 25, 2003. When she did not answer her door or her cellphone, they asked the building superintendent to let them in. The Toronto Star reported in 2006 that she was found face down in a bathtub full of water, … Read more
Thirty-one-year-old Deanna (Thomas) Wilkinson was the last victim of spree killer Marcello Palma, who killed three prostitutes within just a few hours on Victoria Day weekend, May 20, 1996. Wilkinson was also a songstress who had performed at various venues, and was a poetess and short story writer. The Sex Workers Alliance of Toronto held … Read more
At 1:30 p.m. on Friday, October 28, 1994, a woman’s body was found behind the Palais Royale dance hall on Lake Shore Boulevard West. The Toronto Star reported two days later that she had been strangled. She was Virginia Lee Coote, 33, known to her friends as Flex. The Star said the body had washed … Read more
Prostitute Julieanne Middleton, 23, was working the Parkdale neighbourhood when she was murdered. Police suspect she is a victim of serial killer Peter Dale MacDonald. She was found July 7, 1994 in Lake Ontario, just a few minutes’ walk from the Palais Royale at 1601 Lake Shore Blvd West, along Toronto’s western waterfront. Middleton was … Read more
The Toronto Sun reported on December 27, 1992 that Grayce Baxter had sent her parents plane tickets so they could spend Christmas with her in Toronto. They flew in from Clearwater, B.C. Their daughter was not there. Her concierge told the Sun he noticed she was missing before anyone else did. Friends came by and … Read more
At about four in the afternoon on Monday, March 2, 1987, Metro Toronto police answered a call for help at a basement apartment on Northcote Avenue. Constable Leon Johnson found Lisa Black on a bed. Two years later he told a jury he could detect only a faint pulse. He said he came to recognize … Read more