Canadian police finally identify killer who raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl 36 years ago after his DNA is matched on a genealogy database
Canadian police say they have finally identified the killer who raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl more than three decades ago using DNA genetic genealogy after another man was initially wrongfully convicted.
Toronto Police revealed on Thursday that Calvin Hoover was identified through DNA analysis as the person who stabbed Christine Jessop to death back in October 1984.
Hoover killed himself in 2015.
'If he were alive today the Toronto Police Service would arrest Calvin Hoover for the murder of Christine Jessop,' Toronto Interim Police Chief James Ramer said on Thursday.
Police said a DNA sample from semen found on Christine's underwear was tied to Hoover last week after being sent to a lab in the United States.
Toronto Police revealed on Thursday that Calvin Hoover was identified through DNA analysis as the person who stabbed Christine Jessop to death back in October 1984
Genetic genealogy analysis, which gained notoriety through decades-old cold cases like the Golden State Killer, eventually produced Hoover's name.
The technique involves cross-referencing the DNA profile of an unidentified suspect with public databases containing DNA from users who've submitted samples to consumer companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com.
Hoover, who was 28 at the time of the murder, was known to the little girl's family but was never considered a suspect.
Police only said that Hoover and his wife had a 'neighbor acquaintance' relationship with the Jessop family. They also said Hoover may have worked for Christine's father at one point.
While he did have an old criminal record, police said it was not significant in relation to Christine's murder.
Authorities are now trying to piece together Hoover's life in the years between the murder and his suicide.
Police said a DNA sample from semen found on Christine's underwear was tied to Hoover last week after being sent to a lab in the United States. Pictured above is some of the evidence linked to the decades old case
Authorities ruled that Christine had been raped before being stabbed to death. When she disappeared her case received national attention. Pictured above is her family at her funeral service
'I can assure you that there is a great sense of relief. This has impacted the entire judiciary and the legal system including prosecutors, judges and anyone involved in this process,' Ramer said.
Her neighbor, Guy Paul Morin, ended up being charged in 1984 before being wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was overturned in 1995 based on DNA technology
'I can say that we're all genuinely relieved that the person responsible has finally been identified.'
Christine vanished after getting off a school bus and visited a general store near her home in Queensville, just north of Toronto, back on October 3, 1984.
She had been due to meet a friend in a nearby park but never showed.
Her body was found dumped in a wooded area about 35 miles away more than three months later.
Authorities ruled that she had been raped before being stabbed to death.
When she disappeared her case received national attention.
Her neighbor, Guy Paul Morin, ended up being charged in 1984 before being wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
His conviction was overturned in 1995 based on DNA technology.
Morin was paid more than a $1 million by the city and received a public apology.
The little girl's body was found dumped in a wooded area about 35 miles away more than three months after she was last seen