TORONTO — A person has been arrested and charged within the 1998 murder of a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Toronto after police say they used investigative genetic family tree to crack the chilly case.
Det. Sgt. Steve Smith mentioned Ronald Gordon Ackerman of Gander, N.L., had simply gotten off a flight from Edmonton when he was intercepted and arrested at Toronto’s Pearson Worldwide Airport.
Ackerman, 50, has been charged with first-degree homicide.
“We knew he was understanding in Alberta for 2 weeks at a time after which flying again to the East Coast for 2 weeks at a time,” Smith mentioned Friday.
“We have been capable of decide that he was going to be coming by way of Toronto.”
Smith mentioned Donna Oglive was a {sex} employee kind British Columbia and had been in Toronto for under about 5 weeks when she was allegedly strangled to dying by a shopper in a car parking zone on Carlton Road.
“In Canada, she has little or no household, there’s solely actually one individual,” he mentioned.
Smith mentioned police discovered a suspect’s DNA on the crime scene, however they may not establish the individual after operating the proof by way of a nationwide knowledge financial institution.
He mentioned police used investigative genetic geneology to trace down the accused man’s household final yr and have used that expertise to resolve a number of chilly circumstances during the last months.
“Ontario’s mainly the chief in IGG testing, as you’ve got seen by the variety of arrests that we have put ahead,” he mentioned. “Hopefully we proceed this program over the following few years.”
Smith mentioned the accused man was dwelling within the east finish of Toronto in Scarborough and labored as a truck driver on the time of the murder.
Police are investigating what he has been doing since then, Smith added.
“We have to discover out what he is been doing over the previous 25 years and be sure that there are not any different victims, whether or not sexually motivated or homicides that he could possibly be concerned (in),” he mentioned.
Smith mentioned police have greater than 800 historic homicides alone that aren’t solved.
“If you’re capable of clear up these circumstances, it is an awesome feeling,” he mentioned. “It is good to ensure, particularly when these individuals are nonetheless alive, that they’ve to come back and face justice regardless of how lengthy it should be.”
Smith mentioned investigative genetic family tree can be a giant assist in discovering these offenders.
“Anyone that dedicated sexual assaults or homicides over the previous 40, 50 years, in the event that they’re nonetheless alive, I imply, they’d expect a knock on their door at any level,” he mentioned.
The accused man is remanded in custody in Toronto after he appeared through video hyperlink on the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Feb. 7, 2025.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
