Toronto Cold Cases Identified Through Genetic Genealogy: What the Cases Mean for Community Safety

Toronto Police Service says investigative genetic genealogy has identified two women whose remains had gone unnamed for decades: Mary McLeod Moffat, whose remains were found near Danforth and Coxwell avenues in 1995, and Patsy Flora Lagarde (Legarde), found after a vehicle fire near the Highway 401 and Highway 400 interchange in 2004. The cases concern historical violence rather than newly reported incidents, but the identifications provide long-delayed information to families and demonstrate a developing investigative tool for unresolved deaths.

Police said Moffat’s skeletal remains were discovered beneath a building on May 18, 1995. Forensic findings indicated she had sustained multiple blunt-force head injuries, and investigators classified her death as a homicide. Historical records, family interviews and evidence from the recovery site led police to conclude she was likely killed in April 1936. Police have named her husband, Andrew Lloyd Moffat, also known as Drake Lloyd Cummings, as the primary suspect; he died in 1985 and cannot face prosecution. In the second case, Lagarde was identified as the woman found deceased in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was deliberately crashed and burned on April 22, 2004. Authorities said she died before the gasoline-fuelled fire, while her cause of death could not be determined.

Available reporting indicates there have been no new arrests or charges connected to either identification. In the 2004 matter, Suimi Kilflu “Simon” Habteab was convicted in 2006 of offences including arson endangering life, dangerous operation and indignity to a dead body. He received an eight-year sentence and was deported in 2012. The victim identification does not itself amount to a new finding of criminal liability.

Community Context and Social Sentiment

Online discussion has largely been respectful and reflective. Commenters have expressed relief that both women can now be named, while also questioning why families can wait decades for answers. Posts discussing Lagarde’s case have particularly emphasized the need for sustained attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Others viewed the cases as an important, but incomplete, example of what genetic genealogy can accomplish when conventional investigative avenues have been exhausted.

Community reactions broadly combine appreciation for the identifications with concern that families of unidentified people should not have to wait for high-profile technological advances to receive meaningful investigative attention.

The two recovery locations should not be read as present-day violent-crime hotspots. The Danforth-Coxwell area is a busy east-end residential and commercial corridor, while the Highway 401-Highway 400 area is a major transportation interchange where emergency calls are often traffic-related. Open-source reporting cited by police-focused coverage does not identify either precise location as having a recent pattern of intentional violence tied to these historic files. For current local context, readers can review Toronto crime statistics and safety data, which should be considered alongside incident-specific reporting.

Statistical Overview: Historic Cases in a Changing Safety Picture

These investigations span events believed to have occurred in 1936 and 2004, with remains located years later. They therefore do not indicate a current increase in risk at either site. Their public-safety significance lies in victim identification, family notification and the capacity to revisit cold cases as forensic methods improve.

Toronto’s broader crime picture is mixed and requires careful interpretation. Reported homicide totals rose from 71 in 2022 to 73 in 2023 and 86 in 2024, according to figures cited in open-source summaries. More recent reporting described a substantial decline in homicide counts during 2025. Meanwhile, long-term analyses have reported increases in some major-crime indicators and assaults over the past decade, even where year-to-year changes fluctuate. Citywide trends cannot establish conditions on a single block or at a highway interchange, but they help separate current risk assessments from the emotional impact of historic cases.

Toronto remains below the national average on several broad crime-severity measures cited in recent analyses, though residents may still experience heightened concern after serious incidents receive public attention. Crime Canada’s Toronto-area safety data can help residents compare local patterns using reported statistics rather than treating a decades-old investigation as a measure of immediate neighbourhood danger.

Investigative genetic genealogy generally compares a DNA profile with family-matching information and historical records to develop leads. In Moffat’s case, police said degraded remains delayed development of a suitable DNA profile until November 2024. In Lagarde’s case, DNA research identified Indigenous family and community connections, helping investigators confirm her identity. The method can offer answers in cases where records, witnesses and conventional DNA databases have not produced a name, while also raising important privacy and community-consultation considerations.

About This Report

This safety alert was generated by aggregating data from local authorities, community reports, and open-source intelligence. Our mission at Crime Canada is to provide citizens with localized safety data and context. We are not the original creators of the underlying news reports.

Primary Source: Information in this report was initially covered by Meredith Bond for CityNews Toronto.

Additional Research & Context

• Toronto Police Service news releases provide the authority-level context for cold-case and unidentified-remains announcements.
• Statistics Canada police-reported crime tables offer broader context for crime trends and severity measures.
• Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police resources provide background on policing and public-safety practices in Canada.