Genetic genealogy helps Toronto police identify man found dead in 1992
Derek is the 14th person identified through an initiative called 'Project 31,' which began in the summer of 2022 and uses investigative genetic genealogy.
On September 15, 1992, Toronto police responded to a report of an unresponsive man on the lawn of a church near Queen and Church streets. Despite efforts to revive him, the man was pronounced dead, with no identification found and his cause of death deemed not suspicious. For over three decades, his case remained unsolved. Recently, his remains were identified through the application of genetic genealogy.
In January 2026, a DNA profile for the man was uploaded to public databases. The closest matches were distant, but they indicated he was likely from the United Kingdom. Police determined the man was named Derek, who had moved to Toronto from the UK in the 1970s. Derek was reported missing by his lawyer in December 1993, nearly 15 months after his death, but the link wasn't made at the time.
Toronto police discovered a copy of Derek's fingerprints in another country, which matched those of the unidentified man from 1992. Upon confirmation, the man's family in the UK was contacted. Derek is the 14th individual identified through the Toronto Police Service's 'Project 31,' launched in the summer of 2022. This initiative targets 31 open cases involving unidentified deceased individuals with readily available DNA. The previous year, Alcides from Portugal was identified in a 2008 case.
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