A Vancouver man has been charged with second-degree murder in a decades-old Ottawa cold case police say they cracked utilizing cutting-edge DNA know-how.
Lawrence Diehl, 73, is accused of fatally stabbing 22-year-old Christopher Smith on the Portage Bridge connecting Ottawa and Gatineau in 1996.
Nobody answered the door at Diehl’s Kerrisdale residence on Monday.
Neighbours in the neighborhood stated Diehl and his spouse had lived for greater than twenty years within the residence, lately assessed at $3.25 million.
Vancouver police, in collaboration with Ottawa police, arrested the previous meteorologist and BC Soccer Corridor of Fame inductee on the property on Dec. 10.
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“That’s stunning. It is a very good, quiet neighbourhood, you by no means anticipate something like this,” neighbour Eric Gold informed International Information.
“I wouldn’t think about him essentially the most pleasant neighbour to say the least however … I don’t know concerning the deep secrets and techniques that he has in his closet.”
Ottawa police stated murder investigators returned to the almost 30-year-old chilly case in 2020 after they used superior DNA testing, together with Investigative Genetic Family tree, to determine a suspect.
Police stated Smith was strolling residence together with his cousin after an evening out after they encountered an unknown man who fatally stabbed him.
“We assured the household then that this case wouldn’t be forgotten,” Ottawa Police deputy chief Trish Ferguson stated at a information convention earlier this month.
“Due to developments in DNA know-how, we developed a suspect profile that finally led to a breakthrough.”
Diehl served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Administrators for B.C. between 1998 and 2002. He additionally served as president of BC Soccer over the identical interval and has been honoured as a BC Soccer Life member.
Diehl holds levels from the College of British Columbia and the College of Alberta and labored as a meteorologist for the Authorities of Canada between 1973 and 1980.
Diehl was transported to Ottawa, the place he stays in custody. He is because of seem in courtroom on Jan. 8, 2025.
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