Toronto police say suspect in 1982 cold case died shortly after being identified through DNA tests

Toronto police say a man recently identified as a suspect in a cold case murder from just over 40 years ago has died.

Authorities updated the homicide case of 47-year-old Kevin McBride, who was found murdered in his Scarborough apartment on May 17, 1982.

McBride had been stabbed several times and was discovered after officers were asked to attend the man’s residence by concerned friends who had dinner plans with him and were unable to reach him.

Toronto police said McBride lived alone and was not associated with any criminal activity. He was last seen on May 15, 1982, two days before officers discovered his body.

Homicide investigators determined that McBride’s vehicle, credit card and other items had been stolen and used between his last appearance and his body’s discovery, concluding that the victim was murdered on May 15.

McBride’s murder case revisited in 2016

Homicide detectives re-opened the murder case 34 years later, noting that the focus was to re-test exhibits and seized items from the original investigation to determine if advancements in forensic testing and DNA could lead to further leads.

---

Toronto police said testing of evidence from the crime scene revealed a separate male profile from McBride. In 2022, genetic genealogy matched a DNA sample to a man named William Taylor.

In an update from investigators, police said Taylor, who was 34 at the time of the murder, died in May 2023. Had Taylor been alive, he would be facing a first-degree murder charge.

A Toronto police spokesperson thanked the Edmonton Police Service, the Calgary Police Service, New York State Troopers and Othram Inc. – an American company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy – for their assistance in the investigation.