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Delia D'Ambra (2:18)

Hi park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra. And despite the fact that the case I'm going to tell you about today is nearly 40 years old, it still needs to be solved. There is an unknown predator who has gotten away with a heinous crime and who needs to be brought to justice. Or if they're no longer alive, at least give one Canadian family the answer to A question they've spent so many decades asking. Who killed Margaret McWilliam? The crime took place in the summer of 1987 in Toronto's Warden woods park, an urban green space that's situated on the eastern side of the city. According to the city's website, the landscape includes a body of water known as Massey Creek and a winding trail that cuts through the park, providing visitors with a nature oasis in what is otherwise a massive metropolitan area. If any of you listening are city dwellers or from Toronto, then you probably can picture what I'm describing. Warden woods, like a lot of city green spaces, is a patch of thick forest right in the middle of intersecting neighborhoods and commercial roads. If you're in a car, you can get there very easily. If you're walking, biking or even taking public transportation, you're also going to be able to find your way in and out without any problems. I mean, there's even a subway station about five minutes away from the park's northern entrance. In August 1987, a young woman using the space to exercise found out in the worst way possible that someone inside with violent intentions was watching her. In planning a crime so horrific it remains one of the most notorious cold cases in Toronto Police Service's history. But my hope is that with the proper exposure and advances in forensic science, it won't stay that way forever. This is park predators. Around 10am on Friday, August 28, 1987, a woman named Marion Colburn, who was the manager of an older adult's home in downtown Toronto, noticed that an employee of hers named Margaret McWilliam had failed to show up for her scheduled shift as a receptionist. And it wasn't like Margaret was just a few minutes late. She was two hours late, which to Marion felt very out of character for the 21 year old. Because this seemed like a red flag, Marion dialed Margaret's home phone number and spoke with a homeowner who rented a modest basement apartment to her in the Scarborough neighborhood of Toronto. When that landlord checked the door to Margaret's unit, they discovered her keys were still in the door's lock and assumed she'd left them there the night prior, likely after leaving for a jog. Uneasy about what could be going on with Margaret, her manager decided to call the Toronto Police Service, then called the Metro Police and report her missing and basically had them do a welfare check. In short order, officers started their investigation at Margaret's basement apartment, which was on a roadway in the eastern part of the city called Santa Monica Boulevard. No one answered. When the officers knocked, which wasn't a good sign. So the next thing they did was conduct a full scale search for her in the areas closest to her place, which included Warden Woods Park. And to give you just a little bit of geographical context real quick, the house that Margaret lived in the basement of was very close to the park, as well as that subway station that I mentioned earlier in the intro. So naturally it made sense for authorities to search the green space as part of Margaret's missing person investigation. Throughout Thursday morning and afternoon, teams of officers scoured the area looking for any sign of her, but didn't have much luck. Then around 5:30pm Things took a grim turn. According to coverage by the Toronto Star, investigators using tracking dogs discovered what they believed was Margaret's body in a remote section of thick Forest about 100ft away from the nearest road. A coroner quickly responded to the scene, along with about 30 or so police officers who combed the area searching for clues and potential evidence. Discoveries at the scene and subsequent findings from Margaret's autopsy confirmed she'd been struck in the face, strangled with a piece of material from her jogging suit, and sexually assaulted. The television program To Catch a Killer reported that she was found face up, wearing only her socks, and her clothing and shoes had been neatly arranged in a pile near her body. According to Toronto Police Service's podcast 24 Shades of Blue, it was clear to authorities from the get go that Margaret had suffered a lot of violent trauma. A homicide detective named Steve Smith, who was interviewed for the podcast, said there were signs that she'd initially been assaulted closer to the trail and then dragged up the hill and into some bushes and trees further away from where she could be seen. Items investigators did not find with her body was a Walkman cassette player or headphones, which was something witnesses who'd seen her running in the past knew she usually took with her while exercising. Another clue that stuck out to investigators was a distinct shoe print that was discovered in the dirt close to her body. According to what Detective Smith told 24 Shades of Blue podcast, the print belonged to an estimated size 12 shoe, so kind of large as far as shoe sizes go. It was collected and preserved because the fact that it was found at the crime scene inherently meant it was a valuable clue. That TV show I mentioned a second ago called To Catch a Killer reported something quite different though, about this shoe print. That program said it wasn't left on the earth near Margaret. It was actually an impression on her body, meaning whoever left it behind had seemingly stepped on her or applied pressure to some part of her body with their foot in order to leave it behind. Whatever the case was, though, the important takeaway is that back in 1987, the Tread for the shoe was analyzed closely and detectives compared it to shoe brands that had been sold in Canada that particular year. After their process of elimination was complete, they determined it belonged to an AAU high top athletic shoe made in Korea, which had only been sold at Bata brand shoe stores. Between 300 to 500 pairs had been sold in 1987 across 18 different stores in the Toronto metro area. This shoe clue sort of took on a life of its own and became so important to investigators that they dubbed Margaret's case the Cinderella murder because they were spending so much time and energy trying to find an individual who Wore A size 12 shoe like it. However, despite working directly with the retail stores trying to narrow down who'd purchased the sneakers, police were unable to pinpoint who it belonged to. They got about a half dozen calls from the public about the shoe, but none of those leads panned out, which was frustrating because in addition to the shoe impression, police had also discovered several items in the woods and tree line near the crime scene that indicated someone had been living there for an extended period of time. None of the source material goes into specific detail about what those items were, but if I was going to take a guess, I'd probably assume it was maybe trash or food wrappers or perhaps personal items that weren't your average pieces of litter. Unable to do much with that observation, though, until more information came in, police officers canvassed the neighborhood where Margaret lived, looking for anyone who might have seen or heard something that could aid the investigation. A relative of the owner of the home Margaret lived in told the Toronto Star, quote, she was a quiet, very friendly person who liked to stay fit. She was always jogging, although people in the neighborhood were always suggesting that she be careful in the woods. She was a sensible girl, but just got out a little later than was wise, end quote. According to that same article, other people who knew Margaret's usual routine also said that most nights she historically exercised sometime around or shortly after 7:00. She usually went to Warden woods park, and since the weather on August 27 was reportedly really nice, it made sense for her to stick to her normal routine and go running that evening. On top of that, she and her mother, Charlotte, were planning to travel to England for a walking tour in the near future. In an effort to prepare for that trip, Margaret had taken up jogging. She'd even told her mom that she enjoyed exercising in a green space close to where she lived. All of this information was good intel for police detectives working the case. To know it meant that whatever befell Margaret had likely occurred sometime shortly before or after 7pm on Thursday the 27th. That fact in and of itself was kind of interesting because that time of day was also when a lot of other visitors with dogs or families would have been in the park. Warden woods park was a popular spot because it was right off of St. Clair Avenue East, a major street in the city. It had one main trail that was flanked by woods on each side and ran through the middle of the park. Beyond that was a business park and several apartment buildings. On the blog post for this episode, I've actually provided some scene photos and aerial maps of what it looked like in 1987, so take a look if you want to get a better lay of the land that I'm describing. From the start, it really wasn't a question for police what Margaret had been doing when she was attacked. Based on everything they'd gathered so far, it was clear she'd been jogging on the trail alone when the perpetrator or perpetrators struck. Toronto Police Service Detective Sergeant Steve Smith told the host of the 24 Shades of Blue podcast that investigators back in 1987 were able to determine other important details about Margaret's movements on the evening she was killed. He said that in the early afternoon she left work at the older adult's home she worked at, called Fellowship Towers, and gone back to her apartment. Then around 6pm she'd spoken to a few people, either in person or over the phone, and after that she'd gone on her run. The glaring question in everyone's mind, though, was whether a suspicious person had followed her there or perhaps been spotted in or around the park at the same time she was there. Because Margaret was a frequent visitor to Warden woods, investigators needed to determine if maybe whoever had killed her had been watching her prior to the attack, maybe even well before August 27th. You know, a stalker of sorts who'd laid in wait for the opportune time to strike. It wasn't the only theory the police were considering, but it certainly was one. Other avenues of investigation were whether Margaret's death was connected to a string of sexual assaults that had recently occurred in the same part of the city, one of which had actually happened about a month before her murder. Detectives also told the press that it was entirely possible Margaret's slaying was the act of a stranger, making her merely a victim of a random crime. Whatever the case, was though there was no doubt her murder frightened women so much that they opted to avoid going into parks alone. One woman told Toronto Star reporter Dana Flavell, quote, I probably would have done it before that McWilliam girl was murdered, but now I might think twice about it. End quote. Other women told the newspaper that in their opinion, Warden woods park seemed too closed in of a green space to want to run there alone at night. In that same article, a spokesperson for a group in the city that was encouraging women to become more involved in urban planning said that the designs of many of Toronto's parks were to blame for folks like women feeling as if they were more vulnerable to attacks. The Parks Department's goal had always been to have a lot of trees and foliage in the city's recreation spaces. But that also meant the layouts were the ideal places for suspicious or nefarious individuals to lurk in. One of the first tips about this very sort of thing that came to police was from a woman who lived on Margaret Street. According to coverage by the Toronto Star, this witness told police that around 6:45pm on the evening of the crime, she'd observed a suspicious man in the area who she described as 5 foot 7 inches tall with a medium build and had short brown hair. She stated that he'd behaved rather oddly, shaking his head from side to side, and at one point crossed the street in front of her, seemingly pausing to stare at her. It's unclear from the source material if this individual was ever found and questioned, but what I can tell you is that in the first day of the investigation, while police were doing their thing, Margaret's parents, ivan and Charlotte McWilliam, were notified of their daughter's murder after traveling to Scarborough to aid in the initial search for her. Also around this time, they spoke to reporters with local newspapers. The McWilliams were from the Deep river community of Ontario, about five hours northeast of where Margaret lived in Scarborough. She'd only been away from home for about a year before her murder happened. In fact, according to an article by the Ottawa Citizen, which featured an interview with Margaret's dad, Ivan, she'd only been living in that basement apartment near Warden woods park for about four months before she was killed. She'd moved from her hometown to the big city to pursue work and an education at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, which has since been renamed to Toronto Metropolitan University. She was scheduled to attend classes there in the fall and had a passion for culinary work and liked to cook and explore around the kitchen. Her end goal was to complete night classes at school and then eventually move back to the small town she was from to work with the elderly. About a week before her murder, her parents and 18 year old younger brother Mike had spent some time together at their cottage in Berries Bay, Ontario. Charlotte told Toronto Police Services podcast 24 Shades of Blue that her daughter had been born prematurely, and so as a result of that, she'd faced some health issues during her childhood. But despite those challenges, she'd grown up to be a reliable and hardworking person who'd excelled academically in high school in 1987. Referring to how the McWilliam family dealt with the loss, Margaret's dad Ivan, told reporter David Gamble, quote, margaret could not conceive of the kind of people who did to her what this man did. She was someone who was very, very special. This man has not only destroyed one person, but a whole family. We have no feelings of wanting to avenge her death. We just don't. If you had asked me a week ago about this as a hypothetical situation, I would have said I wanted to kill the man. For some reason, I just don't feel that way. I don't feel anything. End quote. In the wake of the tragedy, families and friends from the McWilliams tight knit community in Deep river supported them as best as they could. Jim Wilkes reported for the Toronto Star that at one point, Charlotte had to be admitted to the hospital to help her deal with her daughter's murder. On Tuesday, September 1, five days after the crime, the McWilliams laid Margaret to rest at a cemetery in Deep River. As a final nod to her caring spirit and passion for the elderly, Margaret's family asked people who wanted to contribute funds in her memory to donate money to Fellowship Towers, the older adult's home where she'd worked. Two days later, residents at Fellowship Towers held their own memorial service for her, either simultaneously or prior to working as a receptionist there, Margaret had been the facility's dining room supervisor. Her manager told the Toronto Star, quote, she cared. She was a very nice person who always did her best and was always enthusiastic. End quote. For a while after her death, flowers from Margaret's funeral were displayed in the lounge at Fellowship Towers. To keep the investigation from stalling out, the police set up a dedicated hotline for tips and began using a computer to log and crosscheck information developed in the investigation. Now, I know to many of us listening in 2025, that might not seem like a big deal, but back in 1987, this was considered a big deal. The computer program was a tool that was very new age for detectives at the time, and it had proven successful in a serial sexual assault case the Toronto Police Service had solved prior to Margaret's murder. In that investigation, authorities were able to catch the perpetrator thanks to logging all of the information into the computer that they discovered in each of those cases. And organization was critical in Margaret's homicide investigation because one of the main ways authorities tried to gather new leads early on was by stopping cars along the roadway that she had likely jogged on shortly after leaving her apartment. According to an article by Judy Nyman for the Toronto Star, On Wednesday night, September 2, almost a week after the crime, about 15 officers spent an entire hour stopping every vehicle or pedestrian on Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East. The intersection of those two streets was one of three ways you could get into Warden woods park and was likely a route Margaret traversed. So investigators wanted to know if anyone who normally took that route through the area might have seen something that could be important to the investigation. It doesn't appear from the source material, though, that much came from that effort, other than detectives telling reporter Cal Miller that they'd been able to successfully narrow down what route Margaret took into the park. According to investigators, they determined she left her house on Santa Monica boulevard sometime after 7pm, jogged for a few brief minutes on St Clair Avenue east, passed the subway station entrance, and then entered Warden Woods Park. That would have been at the corner of warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East. If it's helpful to any of you, I've provided a map that the Toronto Star created delineating this route. It's on the blog post for this episode. About 12 days into the investigation, detectives conducted a reenactment of the crime with Crime Stoppers and aired that segment on tv, hoping it would generate new leads. The one big detail I saw reported in that push for information was that the police publicly speculated that a man had attacked Margaret, which I think may have been everyone's assumption already by that point, but still, it was the first time I saw authorities come out and say that definitively. Unfortunately, though, more time went by and police were still no closer to identifying a suspect. Ian McLeod reported for the Ottawa Citizen that detectives assembled a dedicated task force to work the case and remained hopeful that additional forensic testing on items of evidence collected from Margaret's body and crime scene would provide them with better leads. Towards late November of 1987, investigators announced they'd worked with the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit to develop a profile of the killer. According to coverage by The Toronto Star and Ottawa Citizen. Authorities believe the guy was a young man in his mid-20s who was likely unemployed and knew the layout of Warden woods park fairly well. They thought he could have possibly gotten hurt during his struggle with Margaret and most likely had an explosive temper or felt a lifelong sense of rejection from women. Investigators said his motive for the crime was most likely sexual in nature, and after committing the murder, he'd probably started acting differently, perhaps more upset. That change in behavior would have been something his family and friends would have noticed. The FBI's profile also indicated that if he was married or in a relationship, it was most likely volatile. About a month before that profile came out, police got what I imagine felt like their best lead yet. A possible suspect.