Peterborough Police Service Teams with Othram to Identify a 1988 Homicide Victim

Summary

In July 1988, a skull belonging to an unidentified individual was discovered in the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Peterborough is located about 125 kilometers northeast of Toronto. Recreational divers made the discovery on the river bottom, south of Lock 19 near Lock and McKellar Streets. It was determined that the skull belonged to a White male who was likely between 40 and 74 years old at the time of his death. The man was missing most of his molars and his teeth were stained, likely due to being a smoker. Aside from finding hairs suggesting that the man may have worn a beard, no other identifying information was available.

It was determined that the man's head was dismembered from his body. Investigators also concluded that the man was a victim of homicide. An extensive air and underwater search was performed by police following the discovery, but the rest of the man's body was not recovered. Traditional DNA testing was performed and a forensic sketch depicting the man’s likeness was developed and released to the public in efforts to identify the homicide victim. Despite investigators' efforts to identify the John Doe, his identity was a mystery for nearly four decades, and he became known as the "Otonabee River Man.”

In 2021, the Peterborough Police Service teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could assist in identifying Otonabee River Man. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where DNA was extracted and used to build a comprehensive DNA profile using Forensic Grade Genome Sequencing®. Upon development of the DNA profile, Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team conducted a genealogy search to provide new leads to law enforcement. These new leads fueled a follow-up investigation into the man’s identity.

The follow-up investigation led to a potential relative of the man, who provided a reference DNA sample. The potential relative's DNA profile was compared to the DNA profile developed for the unknown man using KinsSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation, along with subsequent confirmatory fornesic DNA testing completed by the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, confirmed the identity of Otonabee River Man as 38-year-old Gerald Durocher. Durocher was born in November 1949.

It is believed that Gerald Durocher had connections throughout the Province of Ontario, including Ottawa, as well as the area of Quesnel in central British Columbia. Investigators encourage anyone with information pertaining to Gerald Durocher, or his death, to come forward, noting that even the smallest of details can play a large part in solving a decades-old case such as this.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Constable Lacey White at 705-876-1122 ext. 266, the Peterborough Police Service Crime Line at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.stopcrimehere.ca. Peterborough-Northumberland Crime Stoppers has generously offered a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in this case.

The identification of Gerald Durocher represents the 11th 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.