Summary
In March 1998, officers from the Toronto Police Service 51st Division responded to a homicide at the rear parking lot of 130 Carlton Street. The victim was identified as 24-year-old Donna Oglive, a resident of British Columbia who had been in Toronto for five weeks. The cause of Donna’s death was determined to be strangulation. Investigators developed a male DNA profile from evidence at the scene, but no match was found.
Since 1998, the Toronto Police Service Homicide and Missing Persons Unit, Cold Case Section, has actively investigated this case. In December 2019, a YouTube video was released appealing for information, and in October 2021, the case was featured in a Toronto Police podcast highlighting unsolved homicides. Despite investigators’ efforts, the person responsible for Donna Oglive’s death could not be identified, and the case was cold for nearly three decades.
In 2022, the Toronto Police Service submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas. At Othram's laboratory, scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the suspect. Upon completion of the process, the DNA profile was transferred to the Toronto Police Service so that a forensic genetic genealogy search could be conducted. This search resulted in new investigative leads in the case, which led to a follow-up investigation. 
This investigation led to the identification of a suspect residing in Newfoundland. On Thursday, February 6, 2025, 50-year-old Ronald Gordon Ackerman of Gander, Newfoundland, was arrested at Toronto Pearson Airport. Ackerman was flying into Toronto from Edmonton. Upon arrest, Ackerman was charged with first degree murder and is being held in custody. Anyone with information about Ronald Ackerman is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, at Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or online at 222tips.com.
The identification of Donna Oglive’s killer represents the 16th publicly-announced case in Ontario where investigators used technology developed by Othram to identify an individual. To read about other cases in Canada, visit the 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.