Summary
In May 1987, a woman was raped at knifepoint by an unknown man in her Toronto apartment. Nearly six years later in 1993, a young woman was attacked by an unknown man while she was on a walking path in Oakville. Oakville is located in Ontario’s Halton Region on Lake Ontario between the cities of Toronto and Hamilton.
The person responsible for the assault of both women was unknown for decades. In 2022, the Toronto Police Service once again teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help to identify the unknown man. Toronto Police Service previously teamed with Othram to solve the 1983 murders of Susan Tice and Erin Gilmour as well as the abduction and murder of Christine Jessop.
Forensic evidence collected from one of the assaults was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown male suspect. The profile was delivered to Toronto Police Service investigators, who then used forensic genetic genealogy to generate investigative leads.
Toronto Police Service investigators worked to develop new leads in the case based on the forensic genetic genealogy search. A follow-up investigation led to the suspect being identified as Bradley Britton. Britton was arrested and in December 2024, he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon in Superior Court in Milton, Ontario, marking what has been reported as the first convictions for sexual assault using forensic genetic genealogy in Ontario.
The identification of Bradley Britton represents the 15th publicly-announced case in Ontario where investigators used technology developed by Othram to identify an individual. To read about other cases in Canada, visit our DNASolves Canada map.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.