Posts by Eli's mom have been popping up on my Facebook feed and I was surprised that this case is not getting the publicity it deserves.
I also found my way to this thread because there were no updates from LE and the posts from social media by family caught my attention. I really wish more publicity too. It’s really good to see your fresh perspectives on this case.
I went through numerous reddit threads and couldn't find any online "investigations" that collect available information. Then I found this thread, went through every post and formed a picture in my head. I think there are a number of questions we don't know the answers for and they are key to solving this puzzle:
1. What did other tenants see or hear during that night? Small dogs like Princess are typically pretty loud so if something was going on they could have heard at least the barking, which could help establish the timeline. We know the tenants were home because they talked about the water from firefighting efforts flooding the basement. There was also a vehicle parked in the back seen in the fire photo from the neighbor.
I wish we knew what the tenants and neighbours told LE about what they saw occur outside the house and what they heard from EW's unit before 6 am Oct 19, 2025.
2. How did Princess die? I think this is a major detail that could steer the investigation in many directions. Possible options are:
- Died in the fire. This is the worst outcome for the poor dog but it is possible in the scenario where someone broke in and assaulted her for being loud. She would likely try to hide until the perp left and not get out when the fire started. The initial assault could still leave identifiable patterns like broken bones. This means someone killed her intentionally
- Killed when the perp broke in to quiet her down - this is similar to the previous scenario but it would even more likely leave identifiable marks
- She could have died as a result of an accident, even caused by Eli, such as eaten chocolate or chewing gum with xylitol. Eli would have been so devastated, especially if he caused it, that he suffered a mental breakdown and decided to end it all. This is a wild theory but it explains all details we know.
All we have to go on is what family shared on social media, saying the dog died in the fire.
Hopefully investigators ordered forensic tests to determine the cause of death.
EW is not suspected of setting the fire so I see no reason to suspect him of killing his service dog.
EW has not been described as having mental health issues by family, friends, professors, LE or any other individuals who knew him.
Perhaps the perps left the dog in the unit to make the fire look accidental and delay the search for EW.
3. What was Eli's relationship status? This is a big one and there is absolutely nothing about it anywhere. This could be a crime of passion one way or another, and it would explain how the perp got into the apartment. Someone he knew could have visited him and either lured him out or murdered him and had to hide the body, especially if the body could be used as evidence, e.g. have traces of perp's DNA.
I've also looked through many sources. So far no one has come forward with any details about EW's relationship status.
Others have suggested it may be a crime of passion committed by someone known to EW.
4. Were there signs of forced entry? It is nearly impossible to tell after the firefighting efforts, but knowing this would narrow down the list of suspects and the motive.
I'm sure Kitchener Police know the answers to these questions and therefore have a much fuller picture of what happened.
I suspect such evidence was found and part of why LE said they had grounds to suspect foul play on Nov 4.
Now there are questions that need to be answered with investigative efforts:
1. Why was the fire started? To hide the evidence? If it was to burn down the phone and laptop it's a very inefficient way of getting rid of the evidence, it is a lot easier to take it and destroy it more meticulously. I would think most fires actually are bad at destroying electronic devices as often memory can still be recovered. It requires a lot of resources though, I'm sure police are pursuing this. Alternatively, if there was more evidence like traces of DNA, signs of struggle, murder weapon, starting a fire makes more sense. If there was struggle however, other tenants or neighbors could have heard it. Also Eli, being generally very cautious, would have likely called for help if there was struggle. Another option for starting the fire is just out of rage or impulse, if the perp is mentally unstable. Finally, it's possible that arson was the main crime. For example someone threw a Molotoff cocktail through the window. Then Eli could run have run out in horror, seen the perp and the perp had to hide their tracks by abducting Eli. This seems unlikely though because I would imagine Eli would tend to his dog rather than running outside when the apartment is on fire. In case of this scenario the fire investigators would have found this out.
MOO the fire was started to destroy DNA and evidence and to delay the search for EW.
Leaving the laptop and phone in the apartment would prevent LE from tracking EW's location after the fire.
That's a good point that the fire could be started by throwing something burning into the apartment through a window or the sliding door.
I also believe EW would take his dog (and his phone) with him if the fire was set to force him out of the apartment.
2. Why is Eli missing? If this was a hate crime or a robbery gone wrong the perp would not go through the trouble of trying to get rid of the body. So it is either abduction, or a murder where the perp had the need to hide the body. This is where the relationship status question comes back into play - if there were no people who would have to hide the body due to the "crime of passion" situation, then abduction is more likely. I'm also sure the police looked into this right away. Another scenario is that Eli left on his own suffering a mental breakdown. Knowing his mental health situation would be helpful in figuring this out.
It weighs heavily to speculate on why EW is missing.
*** all speculation ***
Possible abduction scenarios:
- Perp(s) wanted to silence EW if he knew about or reported criminal activity on campus or at one of his placements.
- Perp(s) chose EW for being small and living alone off campus (threats to LGTBQ community were made that week).
- Perp(s) wanted to exploit or control EW (academic or technical skills)
- Perp(s) wanted to exploit or control EW (robbery, extortion, trafficking)
- Perp(s) picked EW to carry out an extreme case of conversion therapy (fundamentalists or cult)
LE have stated foul play is involved so EW is a victim. Not likely that he left his unit on his own.
The "crime of passion" scenario could also be related to Eli's financial troubles. If someone wanted to target him personally they could gain his trust by offering financial help. This could be the premise to get into his apartment on Oct 19th.
The attention to his mutual aid requests makes sense timing wise.
Perp could be someone who exploited his need for money or someone who wanted the money EW had raised.
Random thoughts:
- When police say the crime was targeted it likely means not that particular victim was targeted beforehand, rather that this was the only intended victim and there is no threat to the public
Yes, that makes sense. LE would call it "targeted arson" to let the neighbourhood know there was no perceived threat of random attacks or serial arson in the area.
Some extra thoughts:
In a typical arson, fire is the end goal (vandalism or insurance fraud).
When police suspect foul play in a disappearance, targeted arson implies that the fire was set to destroy forensic evidence (DNA, fingerprints, signs of struggle).
- The fire alarm would have been triggered way before the building was fully engulfed. It is possible that it was going on for some time but everyone was asleep to hear it (this is not the type of alarm that calls the fire department automatically).
Only the rear unit (EW's apartment) was set on fire and was fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.
It’s a house with HVAC in the basement (seen in real estate listing video) so the ventilation system was most likely shared. EW's unit was above the living room and bedroom of basement tenant. And his unit shared a wall with the main unit kitchen.
MOO At least one of the tenants must have heard the alarms and smelled the smoke or saw it through the vents and called 911.
- If this crime was meticulously planned and Eli was the intended target it would make more sense for the perp to escape through the park, not pull into the driveway. There are other tenants in the house and the neighbor houses are really close, the abductor would likely not want to risk being seen or identified
The park makes sense if the perp was strong enough to carry EW and had a vehicle nearby.
The park is visible from the second floor bedroom windows of 4+ houses on that block so hopefully someone looked out and noticed people in the park, maybe even a vehicle pulled up to the fence.
- The license plates in Ontario are issued in alphabetical order. A*** were issued in the 1990s or early 2000s. B*** were issues in late 2000s. C*** are issued in the recent years. D*** and further are not issued yet. This means that the license plate on the boxy Jeep is most likely CERN XXX.
That’s interesting info. I appreciate these details.
Perhaps EW had a hard time reading the licence plate of the boxy jeep-like vehicle because it was peeling?
Many Ontario B series licence plates (issued between 2006-2016) were peeling and hard to read.
- My analysis is based on the assumption that people act rationally and situations occur based on their highest likelihood. Freak accidents and completely irrational and unexplainable behaviour still happens more often than we would like.
Yes indeed. Your perspectives have opened up more thoughts and considerations.
I hope my analysis helps find Eli. I'm happy to discuss any of the above.
I hope so too
This is definately a possibility. Hopefully there is a digital trail if that occurred.
