Unsolved: The Murder of Margaret McWilliam
Any information, contact Toronto Homicide at 416-808-7400, homocide@torontopolice.ca
or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477), www.222tips.com, text TOR message to CRIMES (274637)
Download the Crime Stoppers App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World
Margaret McWilliam went for a jog in Warden Woods Park around 7 p.m. on August 27, 1987. Her body was later found in a secluded area. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled with a piece of her own jogging suit.
The Case: Facts & Speculations
- Police believe Margaret was not targeted and did not know her assaillant
- Police believe this was a crime of opportunity (wrong place at wrong time)
- A very distinctive shoe print was found at the scene of a Korean-made gray and white runner with vinyl tops and the letters AAU on the heel. The shoes were only sold at Bata Shoe Stores in Canada.
A little after 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 1987, Margaret McWilliam was jogging along a path in Warden Woods Park when she was attacked by an unknown assailant and dragged into a secluded area. There he beat, sexually assaulted and strangled her with a piece of her own jogging suit.
Margaret jogged from her basement apartment on Santamonica Blvd north to St. Clair Ave. E., then traveled west towards Warden Woods park where she entered the trail on the southwest side of St. Clair and Warden. Her body was discovered in bush on the east side of the path.
Police believe that she did not sense the attack coming because she was wearing headphones to her walkman at the time.
Margaret, 21, was a student at Ryerson University and worked part-time as a receptionist and dining room supervisor at Fellowship Towers seniors’ home (now called Davenhill Senior Living). When she did not show up for work on August 28, 1987, her supervisor contacted her landlord who found Margaret’s keys hanging from her doorknob where she had left them to go jogging.
A police dog found her body in the park later that day. Her assailant had punched her in the face leaving bruising and there were signs she fought him during the assault. Police were able to collect DNA samples from cells on her sweater that have lead to a strong profile of her killer, but it has yet to match anyone.
The case, called the “Cinderella Murder” was very high-profile at the time because Margaret had been murdered during broad daylight in a public area.
Map
Images from the Margaret McWilliam Case
Video of the Margaret McWilliam Case
Possible Suspects
Two months after the murder, police provided a sketch of a “potential witness” who left Warden Woods Park after 8 p.m. He was described as a light-skinned black man in his 30s with a thin moustache. He had a muscular build and was wearing a red hat.
Police developed a psychological profile of the killer that said:
- He would have difficulty communications with and maintaining relationships with women
- He would work in a low-end job and change jobs frequently
- Probably uses drugs and alcohol
- Possible traumatic incident involving his family at the time of the murder, either family violence or some kind of emotional turmoil with his mother
Police do not believe this was his first or last attack, but his DNA has not been matched yet because he is dead or left the country. Police do believe he confessed his crime to someone who has the key to bringing justice to Margaret’s killer.