Toronto police say a man has been charged in connection with a pair of DNA-linked homicide cold cases dating back nearly four decades.
Chief James Ramer spoke around 10 a.m. about the cases of Erin Gilmour, 22, and Susan Tice, 45.
The two women were found dead in their homes within four months of each other in 1983. Police say both women were sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. The women were not known to one another.
Through the use of genetic genealogy, investigators were able to identify and arrest 61-year-old Joseph George Sutherland of Moosonee.
WATCH: Toronto Police provide update at 10 a.m. on cold case homicides
Sutherland was arrested on Friday with the assistance of the OPP and charged with two counts of first degree murder. He is charged under section 218 (1) of the 1983 Criminal Code. He was 22 years old at the time of the murders.
Investigators have said they believed the same man was responsible for both killings after DNA evidence linked the two cases together in 2000.
“After 39 years of dogged police work, our investigators have made sure this individual will answer for these heinous crimes,” Chief James Ramer said. “The Toronto Police Service will never give up on finding people who commit crimes in our city and who show a flagrant disregard for people’s lives.”
Sutherland remains in police custody and is scheduled to appear in court in early December.
Police say Gilmour was a 22-year-old aspiring fashion designer and Tice was a 45-year-old mother of four who held a master’s degree in social work and worked with disadvantaged children.
