The human remains of two victims from cold cases in 1995 and 2004 have been identified using Investigative Genetic Genealogy, Toronto police say. The first set of human remains was found on May 18, 1995, near Danforth and Coxwell avenues. The skeletal remains of an unknown woman were found buried underneath a building.
Forensics determined she had been buried after suffering from at least six blunt force injuries to the head with a hammer-like weapon and her death was classified as a homicide, but she was never identified. In 2022, the case was selected as a part of a project focused on Investigative Genetic Genealogy. However, due to the age and degraded condition of the remains, it took until November 2024 to find a suitable DNA profile.
She was later identified as Mary McLeod Moffat, a Scottish immigrant who came to Canada with her family in 1913 from Aberdeenshire. Based on historical records, family interviews and evidence recovered at the burial site, she was likely murdered by husband in April of 1936, police say. Her husband, Andrew Lloyd Moffat, abandoned her, entered into multiple additional marriages and operated a tire business adjacent to the location where her remains were discovered decades later.
He later assumed the alias of Drake Lloyd Cummings and lived in the U.S. and Vancouver before he died in 1985. While police say he cannot be prosecuted, investigators say he is the prime suspect in Mary’s homicide.
Although he cannot be prosecuted, investigators identified Andrew Moffat aka Drake Lloyd Cummings as the primary suspect in Mary’s homicide. In another cold case, police identified the victim of an arson more than 20 years ago. The female victim was discovered on April 22, 2004, when police responded to a fire on Highway 401 near Highway 400.
A vehicle had become engulfed in flames after intentionally colliding with a tractor-trailer. When the fire was put out, investigators found the body of a woman in the passenger seat. The Office of the Fire Marshal later determined the fire had been deliberately set using gasoline and that the woman had died before it was set.
Summary from source