On Aug. 25, 2003, the lifeless body of 32-year-old Cassandra Do was discovered in the bathtub of her apartment on Gloucester Street in Toronto.
Police later determined that Do, a transgender woman believed to be working in the sex-trade, had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
During the course of their investigation, detectives discovered that the young woman, who also went by the name "Tula," was scheduled to meet with a client on the day she was killed and it is believed the person who murdered her left behind DNA evidence stemming from the sex assault.
Police say the national DNA databank was unable to pull up a name but the forensic evidence was linked to another sexual assault from 1997.
Despite securing a suspect description from the surviving victim of that 1997 attack, police were ultimately unable to identify the man they believed to be responsible for both crimes.
The Do case is now among the more than 500 unsolved homicides listed on a new Toronto police website launched on Wednesday.
The site, which was unveiled at a news conference held by Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders on Wednesday afternoon, aims to make information on outstanding homicides accessible so that members of the public can generate more clues to help close these cases.
The website provides information about hundreds of homicide victims and in some cases, murder suspects who have not yet been apprehended.
Investigations listed on the website date back to 1959 and are searchable by year or by the victim’s name. Users are also able to find contact information for investigators in each of the cases.
“We try our very best to utilize technology and social media as best as possible to leverage more so we can try our best to solve crimes, especially serious crimes,” Saunders said during a news conference Wednesday.
“We would encourage members of the public to go on the website, use social media to spread the word on the individual cases and persons wanted for outstanding murders.”
Similar to the Do case, some of the investigations listed on the website have forensic evidence that links a particular suspect to a crime but simply don’t have a name to connect to the case.
In some of the cases where a possible perpetrator has been identified, investigators simply do not know the suspect’s whereabouts.
“This (website) allows us to connect these cases to other parts of the world where the offenders may be hiding,” Saunders said.
“We can use this technology and advance investigations and hold those accountable for these offences.”
The site also includes video clips from investigators, who provide information on select cases and appeal for members of the public to come forward with information.
The videos, Saunders says, will be shared on social media in an effort to generate new leads.
