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The double murders of Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice in 1983 gained nationwide importance. Then, the case went cold for almost 40 years as the Toronto Police allegedly fumbled for leads. Gilmour and Tice were not acquainted with one another and the two murders took place four months and four miles apart.
The upcoming Dateline NBC episode showcases how the long-unsolved case found resolution with the arrest of a 61-year-old Canadian man, Joseph George Sutherland, in November 2022. The official synopsis of the episode on NBC reads:
"The separate murders of two women in Toronto ignite an investigation that spans four decades, taking detectives from the big city to a remote, northern town."
Let us take a look at five details from the murders of Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice, ahead of the upcoming episode titled Evil Walked Through the Door.
Five details about Susan Tice and Erin Gilmour's murders explored
1) Susan Tice was stabbed 13 times in her Bickford Park home
The 45-year-old mother of four, Susan Tice, had a Master's degree in social work and worked as a family therapist with disadvantaged children. She was found r*ped and dead after being stabbed thirteen times in her ransacked bedroom, according to the Toronto Sun.
Tice had moved to her home in Bickford Park, Toronto, from Calgary a month ago with her four children Ben, John, Christian, and Jason. Her brother-in-law stopped by her downtown Grace Street apartment when she failed to attend a family event in Brampton on August 17, 1983.
2) Erin Gilmour was murdered similarly in her Yorkville apartment
Four months later, Erin Gilmour was found dead under similar circumstances. The daughter of the founder of Fiji Water, David Gilmour, Erin was a 22-year-old aspiring fashion designer who lived in an apartment in Yorkville.
Erin had just returned home from work when she was brutally r*ped and stabbed to death. She was found in the bedroom of her rented apartment by her boyfriend, Anthony Munk, on December 20, 1983, per Global News.
3) The Toronto Police linked the two murders to a suspect using DNA technology
The murder of Erin Gilmour drew nationwide attention as a high-profile case and thus, sped up the investigation. The Toronto Police struggled to find a suspect owing to a lack of leads.
However, the only evidence at hand was the DNA sample from the two crime scenes. A connection was established between the murders of Gilmour and Tice in 2000 as they found a match in the DNA thereby allowing them to link the crimes to a common but unidentified suspect, as reported by People Magazine.
4) A breakthrough was found in 2021
The Toronto Police sought help from Othram Inc. to solve the cold case of the 1983 double murders following the Golden State Killer case. Othram, a laboratory that uses genetic genealogy to help authorities, used the DNA evidence to narrow their suspicion of the Sutherland family in Northern Ontario in 2021, per The Globe and Mail.
The officials took two more years to eliminate the brothers by collecting their items and testing them against existing DNA evidence. The police officers came in handy with a warrant for 61-year-old Joseph George Sutherland and his DNA sample matched the evidence.
Joseph George Sutherland was arrested by the provincial police from his home in November 2022, according to CBC News.
5) Joseph George Sutherland was sentenced to life in prison
Joseph George Sutherland, the IT professional from Moosonee, was confronted with the DNA match and interrogated when he confessed to his crimes to the police. According to CBC News, he pleaded guilty to the murders of Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice in October 2023.
As reported by CBC News, Justice Maureen Forestell shared during the trial:
"The deaths of Susan Tice and Erin Gilmour were not quick and they were not painless. Ms. Tice suffered numerous defensive injuries as she fought for her life. Ms. Gilmour was bound and gagged. They were killed in their homes, which should have been places of sanctuary."
Joseph George Sutherland was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 21 years.
Dateline episode titled Evil Walked Through the Door airs on April 19, 2024, at 9 pm EST on NBC and Peacock.
