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Ottawa police made an arrest in connection to the decades-old homicide of Christopher Smith, the force announced in a news conference Dec. 16.
While walking home with his cousin on April 12, 1996, 22-year-old Smith was fatally stabbed several times during a confrontation with an assailant on the Portage Bridge between Gatineau and Ottawa.
Nearly 30 years later, Lawrence Diehl, 73, was arrested Dec. 10 and charged with second-degree murder in Smith’s death. Diehl was brought by investigators to Ottawa from Vancouver on Dec. 13.
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According to Ottawa police, he appeared in court Dec. 14.
“We’ve talked to Christopher’s family to share the news. While undoubtedly difficult to relive the trauma of that day, our team expressed our hope that this would help bring needed closure after almost three decades of unanswered questions,” Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson said in a news conference.
It is the oldest cold case the Ottawa police have solved. It is also the first time they have used genealogy testing to identify a suspect.
In 2020, Ottawa’s homicide unit re-examined this case through advanced DNA testing, including Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG), to narrow down a suspect through their family lineage. This is how Diehl was eventually identified.
Sgt. Chris O’Brien said they were always looking for “innovative” ways to solve a case, especially through advancing technology.
“We try to figure out the family tree of this offender and narrow it down to who our suspect might be,” Sgt. O’Brien said. “Once we’ve narrowed in who our offender is, we will switch back to traditional DNA collection.”
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Sgt. Mahad Hassan said Ottawa police plan to use this technology for other unsolved cases.
“If we see something we can use to further the investigation, we will [use it],” Sgt. Hassan said.
Hasan said Sgt. Randy Wisker, a former investigator on the case who has since retired, was “happy” to hear an arrest has been made.
“They started the process but we just finished it for them,” Sgt. Hassan said.
The police are seeking information from anyone who may know what Diehl’s activities were in Ottawa at the time of the killing.
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