Article content
Evidence found in an abandoned black Ford Mustang has led the Ottawa police to ask for help in identifying a person of interest in a three-year-old unsolved homicide case.
The body of 40-year-old Leo Santostefano was found on a snowmobile trail south of Richmond on the morning of Sunday, March 7, 2021.
His bloodied and frozen body was found by a passerby on a tree-lined section of a snow-covered trail off Dobson Lane at about 9 a.m.
Article content
Three days later, police said the vehicle Santostefano was believed to have been driving at the time he was last seen on the Saturday afternoon — a 2008 silver Nissan Altima sedan — had been located.
On Wednesday, police issued a news release stating that they were asking for public assistance in identifying a person of interest linked to a black Ford Mustang — and possibly Santostefano’s homicide — involved in an incident in June of this year.
On June 4, officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop with the Mustang in the area of Greenbank Road and Hunt Club Road, police said. As officers approached the car to further investigate, it made a U-turn and took off east on Hunt Club. The Mustang was later found abandoned.
Forensic examination of the vehicle linked the driver or a passenger to Santostefano’s death in the overnight hours of March 6-7, 2021, police said.
The person of interest was described as a Black male, between six feet and six feet five inches tall, with a large build. He was seen wearing a black and white tracksuit, black shoes and what appeared to be designer glasses.
Article content
Anyone with information about the identity of the person in the photos supplied or information relating to who may have been driving the vehicle on June 4, 2024, was asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5493. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS) or online at crimestoppers.ca.
An Ottawa Citizen article in March 2021 stated that Santostefano, a security guard, had been a fixture who worked at music venues and events in the city: from Zaphod Beeblebrox to Barrymore’s to Babylon.
At the time of his death, friends remembered him as “hilarious,” and “a super sweet guy that would do anything for his friends.”
— With files from Shaamini Yogaretnam
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network