Man Suspected in 40-Year-Old Cold Case Murder Dies, Toronto Police Confirm

Toronto police have announced that a man recently identified as a suspect in a cold case murder from over four decades ago has passed away.

The authorities have provided an update on the homicide case of Kevin McBride, a 47-year-old man who was found brutally murdered in his Scarborough apartment on May 17, 1982.

McBride had been viciously stabbed multiple times and was discovered after concerned friends, who had plans to have dinner with him, were unable to reach him and called the police to his residence.

According to Toronto police, McBride lived alone and had no connections to any criminal activities. The last sighting of him was on May 15, 1982, two days before his lifeless body was found by officers.

Upon investigation, homicide detectives determined that McBride’s vehicle, credit card, and other belongings had been stolen and used between his last appearance and the discovery of his body. This led them to conclude that the victim was murdered on May 15, 1982.

Revisiting McBride’s Murder Case in 2016

After 34 years, homicide detectives decided to reopen the cold case in 2016. Their primary focus was to re-examine the exhibits and seized items from the original investigation, aiming to leverage advancements in forensic testing and DNA analysis to potentially uncover new leads.

Toronto police have released a suspect image linked to the 1982 murder of Kevin McBride. Photo: TPS.

During the testing of evidence from the crime scene, Toronto police discovered a separate male profile that did not belong to McBride. It wasn’t until 2022 that genetic genealogy techniques successfully matched the DNA sample to a man named William Taylor.

In a recent update from investigators, it was revealed that William Taylor, who was 34 years old at the time of the murder, passed away in May 2023. If Taylor had still been alive, he would have faced a first-degree murder charge.

A spokesperson for the Toronto police expressed gratitude to the Edmonton Police Service, the Calgary Police Service, the New York State Troopers, and Othram Inc., an American company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy, for their invaluable assistance in the ongoing investigation.