Summary

On May 18, 1995, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in Toronto, Ontario. Demolition workers found skeletal remains buried in soil beneath the concrete floor of a demolished automotive garage building at 1515 Danforth Avenue.

Beneath the building were the remains of a woman who was between 20 and 30 years old. Investigators determined the woman had been intentionally buried after suffering at least six blunt force injuries to the head from a hammer-like weapon. It was believed that the woman had been murdered and buried decades prior.

Efforts to identify the woman were unsuccessful. Despite continued investigative work, the case went cold, and the woman remained unidentified for decades.

In 2022, investigators with the Toronto Police Service submitted evidence to Othram in the The Woodlands, Texas. At Othram, scientists worked to develop a sutiable DNA extract from the provided evidence, then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive SNP profile from the evidence.

The initial evidence submitted to Othram did not yield enough DNA of sufficient quality to produce a usable SNP profile. Othram scientists then returned to the skeletal remains and performed several additional extractions, recovering only small amounts of severely-degraded human DNA. Despite these challenges, multiple rounds of DNA testing ultimately enabled the development of a forensic SNP profile. This profile was used by Toronto Police Service genealogists who worked to develop new leads in the case.

These leads enabled a follow-up investigation that led to potential relatives of the woman. Using Othram's KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing, a potential relative's DNA profile was compared to the DNA profile of the woman, assisting investigators in identifying the woman as Mary McLeod Moffat (nee Davidson). Mary was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1905 and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1913.

Further investigation into historical records, family interviews, and evidence recovered from the burial site indicated she was likely murdered by her husband in approximately April 1936. Mary’s husband, Andrew Lloyd Moffat, who lived in the United States and Vancouver under the alias Drake Lloyd Cummings, died in 1985.

This development represents a significant breakthrough in a case that remained unresolved for decades, demonstrating the impact of advanced forensic DNA technology in helping investigators resolve long-standing cases.

Individuals who have taken a consumer DNA test can aid ongoing forensic investigations by joining the DNASolves database. Expanding the pool of available DNA data increases the likelihood of successful identifications, helping to reunite families with their missing loved ones and resolve cases that have remained unsolved for years.

This is the 31st publicly announced case in the State of Ontario where officials leveraged Othram's identity inference pipeline. Learn more by visiting Othram.com.