Summary
In April 1996, Christopher Smith and his cousin were approached by an armed, unknown man while walking on the Portage Bridge. The Portage Bridge crosses the Ottawa River and connects the Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario to Gatineau, Quebec. The unknown man stabbed Christopher Smith and then fled the scene of the crime. Christopher Smith died as a result of the attack, and the person responsible was not known for nearly three decades.
In July 2023, the Ottawa Police Service and Toronto Police Service teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy could help generate new leads and assist with identifying the unknown suspect. Evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram's casework costs were funded via a funding award from the Solicitor General, which supports the Toronto Police Service in providing forensic genetic genealogy services across Ontario for cases involving unidentified human remains, historical homicide, and sex assault.
Othram scientists successfully used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect. The Toronto Police Service forensic genetic genealogy team worked to generate new leads in the case. These leads fueled a follow-up investigation, leading to the identification of a suspect in the case.
Lawrence Diehl, 73, was arrested by police in Vancouver on behalf of Ottawa police. Diehl is now charged with second-degree murder in connection with Smith's death. During the course of the investigation, it was learned that Diehl was in Ottawa for work-related reasons at the time of the murder. He appeared in court in Ottawa on December 14, 2024. The identification of Diehl is the oldest cold case solved by the Ottawa Police Service, officials told reporters during a news conference on Monday. Police ask that anyone with information about him to contact police at 613-236-1222 ext. 5493.
The identification of Lawrence Diehl represents the 13th 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.