Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Toronto police say they have identified the killer of three women in separate homicide cases dating back to 1982.
Through DNA testing, or investigative genetic genealogy, police have identified Kenneth Smith as the killer of Christine Prince, Gracelyn Greenidge and Claire Samson, Det. Sgt. Steve Smith said in a video statement provided by Toronto police Thursday.
The three women were killed in separate incidents between 1982 and 1997, Smith said. Prince was killed in 1982, Samson in 1983 and Greenidge in 1997.
The cases had no leads and went cold shortly after the investigations began, Smith said.
In 2016, he said police found a link between the deaths of Prince and Samson. Then in 2017, they found a link between those two slayings and Greenidge’s, Smith said.
From there, police began doing DNA testing, he said. They started using investigative genetic genealogy in 2022 and identified Kenneth Smith in 2025 as the perpetrator of all three murders.
“Unfortunately, he’s deceased, but we’re able to identify him and say that he was the killer,” Det. Sgt. Smith said.
Police believe Kenneth Smith may have been linked to other deaths in the city.
