Genetic database match leads to arrest in 28-year-old Canadian cold case
Police in Ottawa say they used new technology to crack a 28-year-old cold case.
DNA analysis paired with genetic data from a family tree database led to police arresting a Vancouver man in December in connection with a decades-old killing.
The victim was Christopher Smith, a 22-year-old who was stabbed to death on the Portage Bridge that connects Ottawa with Gatineau on April 12, 1996.
This case is the first time Ottawa Police used DNA technology along with genealogic data to trace a potential family lineage.
“By bringing these charges, the Ottawa Police Service demonstrates once again that we will never stop working for victims of crime and their loved ones,” Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said in a news release.
A 73-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at his home earlier this month. Lawrence Diehl is charged with second degree murder.
A man based in the Vancouver area who goes by Larry Diehl worked for years as an engineer, according to his LinkedIn profile. BC Soccer also has a biography page dedicated to a man named Larry Diehl who oversaw youth soccer programs and was the organization’s president from 1998 to 2002.