Toronto police crack decades-old homicide case using DNA testing

Toronto police say they have identified the person who allegedly killed a Scarborough man more than 40 years ago.

In a release Monday, police said they responded to a call in 1982 to check on 47-year-old Kevin McBride, who lived in the Sheppard Avenue E. area.

Friends who had dinner plans with McBride were unable to reach him and asked police to check on him. Police said McBride, who lived alone and "was not associated with any criminality," died by multiple stab wounds in his apartment.

He was last seen on May 15, 1982, two days before his body was found, police said. Investigators at the time determined McBride's vehicle, a credit card and other personal belongings had been stolen and used between May 15 and May 17, 1982. Police believed he may have been killed the day he was last seen.

The case went cold until it was revisited in 2016 by homicide cold case investigators. They retested exhibits and seized items from the original investigation hoping that "advancements in forensic testing and a DNA databank creation could determine any further leads."

In an email to CBC Toronto, police clarified that investigative genetic genealogy testing began in 2022 and in August of 2023, a suspect was identified. Tests confirmed William Taylor, who was 34 years old at the time of the crime, was the source of the unknown DNA left at the scene.

Taylor died in May 2023. 

"If William Taylor was alive today, he would be arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Kevin McBride," police said.

Police said Edmonton, Calgary and New York State Police were involved in the investigation, alongside private science lab Othram Inc. 

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact police or submit a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers.

Kevin McBride was well-loved, police say

 McBride made a living by selling art in Toronto, said Acting Det. Sgt. Steve Smith, head of the homicide and missing persons cold case division. He lived in the city for over 16 years after moving from Australia.

"He was enjoying life with his friends and all the people that he knew in the city," said Smith in an interview with CBC Toronto.

"Every person that we spoke to loved him."

Smith said his family is still in Australia, and said the force has let them know they've solved McBride's case.

"They're in a bit of shock, but they're also extremely excited that we're actually able to bring this to a conclusion," he said.

Smith said investigators put "thousands" of hours into his case and believe the accused lived in the same apartment building as McBride, and that his murder involved robbery of a number of his "high-end" art pieces.

"We believe that he was actually killed in order to take his belongings so that they could be sold," he said.

McBride's art, car and credit card were tracked in the United States, Smith said. He said a second person was involved in the selling of the art products and use of the stolen credit card and vehicle, but not the actual murder. 

"We still haven't identified what his true identity is. We've been looking for him for a number of years," he said.

Taylor, on the other hand, is still someone investigators are looking into, as he didn't have a criminal record. 

"We're going to go back and look where he's lived over the past 40 years and see if there's anything unsolved that he may have been involved in," Smith said.

Smith said investigators are using the same technology used to solve McBride's homicide on 65 other cases, involving other homicides, sexual assaults, and unidentified human remains.

While solving old cases might mean police don't get the opportunity to "bring offenders to justice," Smith said being able to tell the victim's family what happened is a big deal for his team.

"Even though we don't get to prosecute them, we're still happy that we're able to identify these offenders."