In a year marked by what Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders called “brazen” gun violence, the city’s homicide department is now dealing with more than 30 unsolved murders in 2016 alone.
Canada’s largest city has seen 69 homicides so far this year, a 25 per cent increase from 2015 and the highest number of homicides in Toronto since 2008.
The homicide unit currently has 18 unsolved murders from 2015, and this year, they are dealing with close to double that number.
Here are some of the 2016 cases that have yet to be solved:
Joseph Petit:
On the evening of Jan. 4, Toronto teen Joseph Petit had just returned to his East York home on Detonia Park Avenue after taking his German Shepherd for a walk. The 17-year-old was met by two males outside of his home and after a brief conversation, police say Petit was shot. The two suspects fled the area toward Victoria Park Avenue. Police have not made any arrests in the city’s first homicide of the year but Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux previously said he believes Petit knew the assailants.
Candice Rochelle Bobb:
Thirty-five-year-old Candice Rochelle Bobb and three others were driving home from a basketball game on the night of May 15 when they stopped to drop off one of the passengers on John Garland Boulevard, near Jamestown Crescent. While the vehicle was stopped, police said someone in another vehicle approached the car and sprayed the vehicle with bullets. Bobb, who was five months pregnant at the time, was shot while sitting in the back seat. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors delivered her baby via emergency C-section. Bobb was pronounced dead a short time later. The baby was transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital in life-threatening condition, however, Bobb’s child died about three weeks later. No arrests have been made in connection with the case.
Peggy Ann Smith:
Peggy Ann Smith, a 61-year-old grandmother, was shot and killed outside of her Riverdale home near Dundas and Munro streets on the night of Aug. 27. Police previously said Smith was standing outside with her daughter and grandchildren when suspects opened fire on a group of men who were gathered nearby. Smith was shot as she and her family attempted to run to safety. Investigators said they believe the gunmen were aiming at the males standing beside Smith and the grandmother was struck by stray bullets. No arrests have been made but police previously said they are searching for two suspects.
Kiesingar Gunn
Kiesingar Gunn, a 26-year-old father of four, was shot and killed outside a Liberty Village nightclub in the early morning hours of Sept. 11. Police previously said Gunn was with his wife and friends at a nightclub near Mowat Avenue and Liberty Street when he went to check on his godbrother, who had gone to help a friend who was involved in an altercation. Gunn was struck in the head by a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead in hospital. He was not the intended target of the shooting, investigators previously said.
Vitaliy Ferynskyy
Thirty-two-year-old Vitaliy Ferynskyy was suffering from a serious stab wound on the morning of Dec. 5 when he drove himself to Humber River Hospital’s Finch Avenue site. The hospital, which provides CT and MRI services, does not have an emergency department and was closed at the time. He banged on the door and caught the attention of a security guard, who then called 9-1-1. Ferynskyy was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later. Police have not released any suspect information in connection with the case.
Caheem 'Clayshawn' Ramsuchit
Caheem 'Clayshawn' Ramsuchit was visiting friends in the backyard of a home on Shoreham Court near Jane Street at around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 19 when shots were fired at him from over a fence. Two suspects were seen fleeing the area in a dark-coloured SUV. Friends rushed Ramsuchit to hospital, where he later died. The 17-year-old was not known to police but investigators previously said they believe he was targeted.
Alva Dixon
Elderly Scarborough resident Alva Dixon was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Scarborough townhouse complex on the evening of Jan. 20. The 70-year-old and one other person were found with gunshot wounds inside a van in the parking lot near Victoria Park Avenue and Finch Avenue. Police previously said that the suspect sneaked up on Dixon before firing several shots at him. He was pronounced dead at the scene while the other victim suffered only minor injuries. At the time the shooting, investigators called the homicide “incredibly cowardly” and said the motive for the shooting was not clear.
Julio Cesar Soto
Julio Cesar Soto’s body was discovered burned in a North York park fire pit on the morning of April 9. Little information has been released about his death but police previously said they believe Soto was murdered and then burned in an attempt to conceal his identity.
Justin Bokma and LeFranc Matthews
Justin Bokma and LeFranc Matthews were shot and killed inside an after-hours club near College Street and Augusta Avenue at around 5 a.m. on Canada Day. A friend said Bokma, who was reportedly working as a doorman at the club at the time, was shot while trying to disarm one of the suspects. Matthews, a 41-year-old father of two young children, was also killed in the shooting and it is believed that Matthews was the owner of the club. Police previously said two or three male suspects were seen fleeing the scene of the shooting on foot. No arrests have been made.
Unsolved 2016 homicides in other parts of the GTA:
Peel Regional Police:
Murders: 11
Unsolved: 6
Halton Regional Police:
Murders: 1
Unsolved: 0
York Regional Police:
Murders: 8
Unsolved: 2
Durham Regional Police:
Murders: 4
Unsolved: 2
