Man charged with 1st-degree murder in 1998 killing of pregnant woman in Toronto
Donna Oglive, 24, was found dead in a parking lot in Toronto in March 1998
Toronto police have charged a 50-year-old man with first-degree murder in a cold case homicide from 1998.
Donna Oglive, 24, was found dead around 7 a.m. in a parking lot at 130 Carlton St. in March 1998, Toronto police said. She had been strangled, Det.-Sgt. Steve Smith said at a news conference on Friday.
Oglive had a child and was four months pregnant when she was killed, police have said. She was from British Columbia and had only been in Toronto for five weeks.
She was working as a sex worker, and her death may have happened during a "sex trade transaction," Smith said.
The accused, who is from Gander, Newfoundland, was arrested at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday just after midnight, according to a police news release on Friday.
He was living in Scarborough and working as a truck driver when Oglive died.
At the time of his arrest, he was regularly flying out to northern Alberta from Newfoundland every two weeks to work in the oil fields, Smith said. He had flown into Toronto from Edmonton when he was arrested.
"We need to find out what he's been doing over the past 25 years and make sure there are no other victims, whether sexually motivated, or homicides that he could be involved in," Smith said.
The accused is being held in custody, he said. He appeared in bail court virtually on Thursday morning, the release said.
Investigative genetic genealogy led to arrest, police say
Police have been investigating the case since 1998, the news release said.
Investigators developed a male DNA profile from evidence at the scene but could not find a match in the National DNA Data Bank. In 2022, police used investigative genetic genealogy that led them to the accused's family, Smith said.
"We were able to collect a DNA sample and prove that [the accused] was the person responsible for the death of Ms. Oglive," he said.
Police have been in touch with the Sex Workers Alliance of Toronto, who Smith said had been "instrumental in keeping this case at the forefront."
Oglive has little family in Canada, other than one person who lives outside of Ontario, Smith said.
He said Toronto police have over 800 historical homicides.
"When you're able to solve these cases, it's a great feeling," he said.
"It's nice to make sure, especially when these people are still alive, that they have to come and face justice, no matter how long it's going to be."
Oglive's death was the subject of a YouTube video posted by Toronto police in December 2019, as well as a police podcast in October 2021 about unsolved homicides.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
