CANADA Canada- Helen Gillings, 19, Found naked & strangled in alley, Hamilton, Ont. 16 Feb 1995

[dotr]

By Susan Clairmont
Feb 11 2022
Hamilton police homicide case No. 95-030477 remains unsolved. But Helen Gillings is not forgotten. | The Star
''Some things have not changed much since I wrote that story. Helen’s murder is still unsolved. The $10,000 reward is still unclaimed. The case remains cold.

Also unchanged, however, is that somehow — in a city that has had some 250 homicides since then — Helen has not been forgotten.

On Valentine’s Day, red hearts will be placed on the lamp post by the alley at King and Emerald streets where Helen’s body was found.''

''Sisters in Spirit, the organization calling on us to remember and honour Helen with hearts, asks participants to post photos of the lamp post memorial using #MMIWC2S. Sisters in Spirit began as an initiative to research and document the statistics of violence against Indigenous women in Canada. It has expanded and is now a voice for awareness, education and advocacy.''

“She was a beautiful girl,” her dad told me back then. “She was intelligent. She loved animals. She had artistic talent that would blow you away. What happened to Helen was a waste of what could have been a wonderful life. And for that, I’m very, very sad. Helen was very much loved here. We did everything we could to convince her of that.”
Helen spent her last evening playing pool with a “clean-cut young man” at the long gone Straw Hat bar. She was seen entering the alley with a man at 1 a.m. on Feb. 16, 1995. Her naked body was discovered at 5 p.m. the next day, stuffed under an overturned sofa.

She had two daughters — a two-year-old and a three-week-old. Her newborn was premature and still in the hospital when Helen was killed. Both girls were put up for adoption.

Fifteen years earlier Helen too had been adopted, along with her sister, by a family in Alberta.''

 

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2018
23 years after her unsolved murder, Hamilton remembers Helen Gillings | CBC News
''Hamilton police have a $10,000 reward advertised for clues leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Gillings' death.
You are not safe. We will not stop.- Hamilton police Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk, to the person who killed Helen Gillings
Gillings was last seen alive at 1 a.m. on Feb. 16, 1995, leaving the Straw Hat and going into the alley with a man.''
Though police said they have identified the man she entered the alley with, Oleniuk declined to comment on whether that person is a person of interest in the case.'
He issued a stark message to the person who killed Gillings.
"Somebody is looking over their shoulder, every day," he said. Police want to "reinforce to that person that yeah, maybe you should be looking over your shoulder. You are not safe. We will not stop."

Candle Heart GIF - Candle Heart Hearts - Discover & Share GIFs (tenor.com)

 

[Claroon]

These cases are difficult when there is so little to go on. This struck me: "She had two daughters — a two-year-old and a three-week-old. Her newborn was premature and still in the hospital when Helen was killed. Both girls were put up for adoption." So she was still recovering from childbirth? I simply can't imagine here going out there for the night in that condition. Recovery from childbirth takes a very long time!

 

[Claroon]

Google calendar from Feb 1995 regarding Helen Gillings Case. Feb 16, 1995, Thursday (last seen alive about 1:00 AM). Found approximately 5:00 PM on Friday February 17, 1995.

Helen Gillings would be 50–51 years old today in 2026. Her two daughters were adopted out.
They would be in their early 30s today.

WHERE WERE THE CHILDREN AT THE TIME? Allegedly, she the older child left with her live-in boyfriend and the 3-week old baby was still in the hospital. (These details do not appear in the brief official police summary and should be treated as unconfirmed unless sourced to a credible publication.)

From this article: She and her boyfriend had been evicted from whereever they were living. "At the time of her death, Helen was essentially homeless and struggling to survive. A neighbor recounted a heartbreaking incident where a man threw her out of an apartment lobby where she had gone simply to try and stay warm." (paywall so could not read full article) COLD CASE: Helen’s light still shines. So let me tell you her story

DNA Potential: Because the body was "stuffed" under the furniture, there is a high likelihood of transfer evidence—fibers from the couch, hairs, or skin cells—that could still be sitting in the Hamilton Police Service evidence lockers.

Behavioural opinion of possible perp:

In my opinion only--not your normal "john". This went beyond client encounter. She was found in a public alley. Her body concealed under a sofa. He, obviously, took no action to move her body.

Under the sofa implies "concealment". Naked, implies a whole lot more--some offenders strip victims to dehumanize or exert control. She was post-partum! She would likely have been bleeding still from giving birth. Intercourse is NOT advised 3-weeks pp. Did he force strip her? Was she already dead when the clothing was removed? Was her clothing found nearby? Was her clothing folded, scattered, or torn? Did he leave his semen? Did she have defensive wounds? Was cash found?

Possibly a male familiar with the area, comfortable engaging with street-level sex workers, capable of sudden escalation to lethal violence and willing to take high risk of doing this in a public alley.

If you were a witness of this incident in February 1995 and have information contact:

• Hamilton Police Homicide Unit: (905) 546-3801
• Crime Stoppers (Anonymous): (905) 522-TIPS (8477) or crimestoppershamilton.com