The Windsor Police Service’s Major Crimes Unit is being recognized for their work in solving a 48-year-old cold case murder.
The Major Crimes Unit received the Ontario Homicide Investigators Association’s (OHIA) 2022 Lynda Shaw Memorial Award for their work in solving the 1971 murder of Ljubica Topic.
Police say the 6-year-old Topic was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered on May 14, 1971.
She had been playing outside her family’s home on Drouillard Road when a stranger lured her away with the promise of money. Her body was found about four hours later in an alley nearby.
Detective Scott Chapman of the Windsor Police Major Crimes Unit announces that police have identified the suspect responsible in the death of Ljubica Topic. December 13, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Police say over the years, Windsor Police Service investigated more than 700 persons of interest and followed hundreds of tips that poured in from across Canada and the United States.
A man was eventually identified due to the preservation of evidence from 1971 and the case was one of the first uses of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Canada.
After the man was identified, police said they could not publicly release his name since he had died and cannot be formally charged.
Police said he was a Windsor resident who lived in Topic’s neighbourhood.
The Lynda Shaw Memorial Award is presented each year to recognize the outstanding performance of individuals or teams for their care and commitment in homicide investigations.
Windsor police staff Sgt. Scott Chapman and Const. Terry Dodlich attended the OHIA annual conference in Niagara Falls Thursday night to accept the award on behalf of the Major Crimes Unit.