Man found stabbed to death over 41 years ago, cops say. Now DNA identifies dead suspect
_fitted.png "Kevin McBride was killed May 17, 1982, in his apartment in Toronto, police said. DNA testing recently identified a suspect in his killing.")
A 47-year-old man was stabbed to death in his apartment in Canada more than 41 years ago, police said.
The suspect in the killing of Kevin McBride was recently identified as William Taylor after DNA testing, the Toronto Police Service said in Jan. 8 news release.
However, Taylor died in May — shortly before he was identified as a murder suspect, police said.
McBride was found stabbed to death May 17, 1982, two days after he was killed, police said.
He was supposed to meet friends for dinner, but he never showed up, so his friends contacted police. Authorities found him dead.
During the investigation, police said they learned McBride’s vehicle and credit card had been stolen in the days following his death, but a suspect was never named.
The case went cold until it was reopened in 2016.
Forensic genetic genealogy used to identify suspect
Investigators then retested DNA evidence and determined “a male profile, not of the deceased” had been at the scene, police said.
In 2022, the police department partnered with Othram, a lab in The Woodlands, Texas, that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy.
Othram created a DNA profile from the evidence, helping authorities identify Taylor as a suspect in the summer of 2023.
Taylor was 34 at the time of the killing, and he would have been arrested on a first-degree murder charge if he had been alive, authorities said.
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Man found stabbed to death over 41 years ago, cops say. Now DNA identifies dead suspect."
