In 1983, 22-year-old Erin Gilmour and 45-year-old Susan Tice were found assaulted and stabbed to death in their respective apartments in Toronto, Canada. Eventually, authorities found a link between the two murders, which took place four months apart, and this double-murder case will be the focus of Dateline NBC's upcoming episode.
Disclaimer: The article has mentions of assault, r*pe, and murder. Reader discretion is advised
The murders were initially not connected as the women were not acquainted with one another but both were discovered by their close ones in their homes separated by a few blocks. As the years rolled, the case turned cold while the Toronto Police struggled to find leads till DNA technology finally led to Moosonee's Joseph George Sutherland in 2021.
The official synopsis of the upcoming Dateline episode reads:
"The separate murders of two women in Toronto ignite an investigation that spans four decades, taking detectives from the big city to a remote, northern town."
The Dateline NBC episode, titled Evil Walked Through the Door, airs on April 19, 2024, at 9 pm EST.
Erin Gilmour was the daughter of a wealthy businessman
The Dateline episode revolves around the murder of Erin Gilmour which took place on December 20, 1983. The daughter of David Gilmour, the Canadian investor and businessman behind Barrick Gold and Fiji Water, Erin was 22 years of age when she was brutally murdered.
Erin aspired to become a fashion designer and lived in an apartment above the clothing store she was an employee at in Yorkville, per Oxygen. She had reportedly returned home with her friend Robin Knits and moments after, the attack took place at her Hazelton Avenue residence, per The Global News.
Erin Gilmour was found r*ped, s*xually assaulted, and stabbed to death. Her hands and mouth were bound. Erin was found dead by her boyfriend and son of her father's business partner, Anthony Munk, according to a Toronto Star report.
Erin Gilmour's case gained nationwide attention owing to the high-profile nature of the family. Erin's father, David Gilmour, co-founded one of the world's biggest gold mining businesses which is now owned by Newmont - a competitor in the business. The company reportedly owns gold mines worth $40 million in Northern Ontario.
Before Erin Gilmour, the first victim of the case was found four months prior in August 1983. The common link that tied the two women was the DNA match collected from the crime scenes.
The case had turned cold with no leads to the puzzling murder. A lead to the criminal was established using DNA technology in 2000, according to The Guardian.
Susan Tice was a family therapist
According to CBC News, Susan Tice, the 45-year-old resident of downtown Grace Street in Bickford Park, was a family therapist with four children, Ben, John, Christian, and Jason. She had moved to Toronto from Calgary a month before the incident, per the Canadian media outlet The Globe And Mail.
Tice had a Master's degree in social work and also dedicated her time to working with deprived children and empowering them.
According to a Toronto Sun report, Susan was scheduled to attend a family function in Brampton. Her absence at the gathering prompted her relatives to reach out to her and when they failed to get in touch with her, her brother-in-law conducted a welfare check only to find her murdered in her ransacked home.
Susan Tice had also been s*xually assaulted and repeatedly stabbed 13 times in total, per Global News. She suffered from defensive wounds on her hands and her head.
Watch Evil Walked Through the Door on NBC as it airs on Friday at 9 pm EST.