CANADA Canada - Sonia Varaschin, 42, Orangeville, 29 Aug 2010 - #3

[No_Stone_Unturned]

More questions
- how far from the front door was Sonia’s car parked
- what did the killer do with his clothing
- how did the killer get to his/her home
- was Sonia’s front door left ajar or was it firmly closed

 

[2soccermom]

.... Since it *seems* that Sonia's body was dragged out the front door and placed in the trunk by a not-too-hefty person, are we looking at a female killer? Do we know for certain that the killer is male? In other words, have LE ever used the words HE/HIM/THE MALE etc. Or did a male bring along a female a` la Bernardo & Homolka? Hmmmmmm......

The idea of a duo is possible, given that LE has allowed (but never stated outright) that there could be more than one killer in Sonia's case. Det. Glassford has reported (and it's indicated in one of the video docs -- I think the OPP/Global one) that the DNA yielded a "minor male profile" -- I believe he was intimating then that while the sample was not strong, the technology for testing it is ever-advancing. (But in the same video, Sonia's mom states that she has been told the DNA is a "mixed" sample, and we have had journo reports on the consideration/use of STR-tech to separate.) Hmmmm, indeed....

That's a GREAT question about the front door, NSU!! If it is one perp struggling during exit, it's not likely he would close the door behind him. But at the same time, if he was not carrying (and sorry for the indignity of the language/detail) but "dragging" Sonia rolled in the sheet(s) out the door, he may have had a hand free to do so. I believe he would have closed the door, even if there were only one perp and if difficult to do so. (And if so, that is, if the front door WAS closed, that would tell us MORE about him.) My belief has always been a bit counter to the FBI profile in that I haven't thought the perp disordered/reckless (I mean: the crime itself was the brutal, uncontrolled work of a monster -- but I think there was a LOT of cold calculation after the fact.) Sonia's mom in one of the videos said it's almost like "the perfect crime"..... It isn't, but so many of his actions have actually made it much harder to catch him. Taking her car was considered "reckless", but as the perp was actually likely covered in blood, it was safer to take a car than to walk back to his vehicle or his home (depending on whether we believe he is a local or not). Why did he remove her? Was that risky? Well, removal meant we had a missing person's rather than murder case for a week in hot weather. The distraction of LE and public focus on a search for Sonia rather than her killer allowed for time to arrange an alibi, time for any scratches or other injuries he may have acquired to heal or be less notable, time to get rid of clothing, clean his car (if he had one that night) etc. I really feel he must have had a vehicle very close by the tack shop so he wouldn't be visible in his bloodied clothing -- unless he lives very close by there (otherwise why wouldn't he have ditched Sonia's car in a more remote location? For others, this may be a sign of reckless thought. It isn't for me.) Was this someone who knew of the bf and where he lived? Was he trying to frame the bf by the location of where she was found?

The one thing that keeps tugging at me is why he left her where she was rather than deeper in that wooded area. IIRC, reporters have said that if she had been placed further in, it might have been very hard to find her. In the end, was he feeling some remorse? Did he switch, and want her to be found (after some time passing, for his protection)-? I have wondered about this before. But now, and as I posted yesterday, I'm thinking maybe he pulled up the car to the spot and could only manage to leave her where she was found (maybe he'd hoped the car could drive deeper in -- but there must be a water ditch there, because many of us will remember the news story of someone building a culvert for access to a memorial site at the place where she was found.) Does this mean he was slighter in build? Not very strong? Potentially injured (etc) -- to not have been able to carry her deeper in?

I think this is what is especially worrisome for me: my concern is that this is NOT someone whose behaviour has changed post-attack, NOT someone who has taken up drugs post-murder, or had unexplained absences from work, etc, as the FBI profile suggests. I worry he's one of those people who walks among us unnoticed....

I do believe this case will be solved one day, although it is harder to hang on to that hope as time continues to pass. I believe it will take a tip from the public, just as LE keeps suggesting. But I wish LE might give us some more detail to help prompt us. If we knew the murder weapon, maybe that could stimulate a tip; if we knew whether LE thinks Sonia was able to fight back, folks might remember someone with scratches.... Does LE think he might have been injured? Don they have any guesses on his height or build based on any evidence at the scene or speculated re: the size of the shoe print? I mean: folks can call in suspicions without this info from LE, of course. But I think we as the public don't want to believe the folks who live and work among us could actually commit such a heinous act, and so more info to wriggle away at a potential tipster can only do good. At this point, I think concern over false confession is overshadowed by fear of this person living among us.

*Note: please mentally consider in all my references to the perp the possibility of more than one person (including, as NSU speculates, a female perp)

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

More thoughts about this
- Sonia’s home backed out onto a wooded area, why not place her body there?
- her home had a back door where she called her cat to come home nightly - why would the killer use the front door?
- I also feel this was a perfectly planned event which appeared to be reckless
- did Sonia drive her killer to her home/ was she followed/ was he waiting there for her/ was he a surprise at her door?
- were any household knives/weapons taken from Sonia’s home or did he arrive prepared ( I think he came prepared )
- what significance did the area where her body was found have for the killer?
- was Sonia’s backdoor locked?
- I firmly believe he/she/both live and work and play right in our midst

 

[2soccermom]

More thoughts about this
1.- Sonia’s home backed out onto a wooded area, why not place her body there?
2.- her home had a back door where she called her cat to come home nightly - why would the killer use the front door?
- I also feel this was a perfectly planned event which appeared to be reckless
3.- did Sonia drive her killer to her home/ was she followed/ was he waiting there for her/ was he a surprise at her door?
4.- were any household knives/weapons taken from Sonia’s home or did he arrive prepared ( I think he came prepared )
5.- what significance did the area where her body was found have for the killer?
6.- was Sonia’s backdoor locked?
- I firmly believe he/she/both live and work and play right in our midst

I've added numbers to your Qs in your excellent post above in order to take them up, NSU -- hope that's ok.

1. Again, I think this is an issue of not being physically capacitated to transport Sonia's body across that distance. I also think there would be an issue of visibility -- "dragging" (sorry) a body across the ground IF seen would be much more suspicious than someone just driving a car. I expect Sonia's neighbours would have views of that area from their back windows.... It may not be likely that anyone would see over the night but certainly possible. PLUS, I imagine that area was one of the first areas searched since the attack occurred in her home. (The place she was located was not found via LE search but accidentally by a dog walker.)

2. We don't know how he entered, only how he exited. The front door gave access to the car. Your Q6 is VERY interesting! WAS the back door, AND were the patio doors, locked or not? What would the info tell us?

3. All good questions!
My belief is he didn't drive to her home -- I think he parked his car at the tack shop. This could (but not perforce) suggest pre-med. Others believe he walked to her home and is a local. I don't know if LE can tell whether he was invited in or not (were there two wine or water glasses, dinner for two on the table? Or was her patio or back door open, suggesting he may have slipped in unbeknownst to Sonia? Was there sign of a struggle already at the front door, suggesting she answered a knock? Or was she attacked in her bedroom with no signs of a struggle, suggesting she was attacked in her sleep? Does LE have some of these answers but are just not telling us?
The fact that her bf says he spoke to her on the phone that night but her mom did not (unusual) tells us something, but I can't for the life of me figure out what....

4. Another fantastic Q.
If he brought his own weapon: was it something unique or niche, a legal or illegal weapon, something readily available/from a typical household, or? Does LE have it in possession? If we knew more about what it was, someone might have a tip they have no idea yet is relevant!

5. Earlier I wondered if she was left in a remote area so the perp could return to the scene. Now I'm less sure of that. I'm inclining more to the idea he wanted to hide her/plant suspicion on the bf but just couldn't make it all far enough.
Could he have been bleeding? If Sonia was attacked with a knife, he may have sustained accidental cuts to his own hand. (I have been watching crime shows over the last 2 years to see if there's anything that might help us, and this can be the result of knife attacks. Maybe he needed to attend to his own injuries/didn't want to bleed further in his or her car, and so didn't make it the distance he intended.) I'm not sure I myself believe this, because I think if he was dripping his own blood we would have a better DNA profile -?

6. Wish we could know! Glassford has said that there were no signs of forced entry -- but also that we shouldn't assume her doors were locked (iirc, he wasn't suggesting that Sonia necessarily let her killer in). Does LE have their own theory? I know in the early days LE was suggesting she was likely targetted (the killer knew or knew OF Sonia; this didn't necessarily mean she knew/OF him). In one of the videos, Glassford talks about the area of the townhomes and specifically Sonia's home as being kind of hard to access.....

Sigh. I'm emptied out for today. Hopefully others will continue the discussion and maybe generate new ideas. I really wish LE would relent and give the public a bit more to work on. I know LE wants to solve this case as much as we want them to (and likely more), and I'm grateful they remain active on it.
What will it take? Who has that key to the puzzle, as LE has worded it?

 

[dotr]

Crime Scene and Profile Characteristics of Organized and Disorganized Murders | Office of Justice Programs

www.ojp.gov

rbbm.
''The subjects represented 25 serial murderers and 11 sexual murderers who had committed either a single homicide, double homicide, or a spree murder. Within this group, the classification technique revealed 24 organized and 12 disorganized murderers. Both crime scene and background differences were found between the two groups.
Characteristics of the organized offender include a high birth order, inconsistent parental discipline, average or above average intelligence, and poor work performance. The organized offender is socially adept and usually living with a partner. He may report an angry state of mind prior to the murder and admit to being calm and relaxed after the crime. The crime scene of the organized murderer shows a semblance of order before, during, and after the offense. The victim frequently is a stranger and may be targeted because he or she is in a particular location or has certain characteristics. Obsessive, compulsive traits surface in the organized murderer's behavior and crime scene patterns.
In contrast, the disorganized offender is likely to be of below average intelligence, low birth order, and subjected to harsh parental discipline. He is in a confused and distressed state of mind at the time of the murder, is socially inadequate, and sexually incompetent. The crime scene shows that the crime was committed suddenly with no set plan of action for deterring detection. Facial destruction and sexually sadistic acts performed after the murder are typical. Disorganized offenders usually leave the victim in the same position in which he or she was killed and make no attempt to conceal the body. ''

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

A good read.

Episode 057: Sonia Varaschin – Bite-Sized Crime

www.bitesizedcrimepod.com

Strangely, there were several other attacks on women in the area in the months after Sonia’s death, and police looked into each one, wondering if they were all somehow connected. On October 6th, Adrienne Roberts, a 33-year-old paramedic from Guelph, Ontario, was found murdered in the basement of her home. On December 8th, Shelley Loder, a 44-year-old photographer, was brutally attacked in her studio in Mono, just miles away from Orangeville. Shelley managed to survive her attack and was able to give police a description of her assailant. Three women of similar ages and life circumstances, all attacked within a 30-mile radius just months apart. But as time passed, investigators could not find anything linking the cases together. Adrienne’s husband was later convicted for her murder, and Shelley’s attacker slipped into the shadows.

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

Was the wife of the boyfriend questioned?

 

[dotr]

2011 By Curtis Rush

Police to probe dating websites in Sonia Varaschin murder

A “new phase” of the investigation into the death of Sonia Varaschin will include a probe of dating websites she frequented before her murder.

www.thestar.com

''A source confirmed the 42-year-old nurse frequented various dating sites before her death last August.

OPP Det. Insp. Andy Karski, who has recently taken over as the case manager, said police will announce a “new phase” in the investigation Wednesday, along with new details.

Part of that new phase will include reviewing Varaschin's past work associations and personal relationships.

Sonia had a boyfriend, Ian Rushton, at the time of her murder. Police confirmed they have cleared him as a person of interest in the case and the family says they do not believe he had any connection with the murder.

The relationship with Rushton was off-and-on for a year or so, the source said.

It's not clear if she dated people she had met on the matchmaking websites. It's believed she was most active before she met her boyfriend.

Sonia's brother, Viv, 38, said he is aware his sister used online dating services but said he was reluctant to comment because of the police investigation''

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

Possible multiple people involved

ONTARIO COLD CASE: OPP could be searching for multiple suspects in unsolved Sonia Varaschin murder case

It’s been nearly eight years since a white Toyota Corolla with blood smeared on its bumper led police to the townhome of 42-year-old Sonia Varaschin. There they found blood, but

www.toronto.com

“It’s quite apparent from our scene examination that when the culprit left the scene, he was covered in a significant amount of blood. The blood would be expected to be on both footwear and clothing,” Det. Insp. Mark Pritchard said days following Sonia’s disappearance, adding it was not known if she’d been removed from her home dead or alive.

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

I’m concerned about my post above.. Do we even know time of death for Sonia? Could she have been alive when she was placed in the spot she was found? How much info are LE holding back?

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

Does the Town Hall have some significance? Why drive her car back there and leave it there? Why not abandon the car in Caledon?

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Does the Town Hall have some significance? Why drive her car back there and leave it there? Why not abandon the car in Caledon?

I don’t know. But in the Elizabeth Bain murder her killer drove her car to dispose of her body and drove it back close to where she was last seen (and likely killed.)

The theory was that the killer either lived close to where he parked her car or his vehicle was parked within walking distance.

No other option if you’re likely covered in blood or other evidence, imo. They also have to think of being fast so no one notices their absence.

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

And I still think Bernardo is responsible for the McBain case.

Surely there must be CCTV near the Town Hall to show him exiting Sonia’s car. He must have changed boots or there would be blood from Sonia’s car to his. JMO

 

[whiterhino]

And I still think Bernardo is responsible for the McBain case.

Surely there must be CCTV near the Town Hall to show him exiting Sonia’s car. He must have changed boots or there would be blood from Sonia’s car to his. JMO

BBM

In another thread involving a bloody crime (Idaho), someone suggested the killer put a plastic cover over the brake and gas pedals. It was also suggested in the Idaho thread that the killer wore a face mask.

I know SVs case happened in 2010 but even back then (pre-Covid), Sonia was a nurse and would have been well aware of how easily germs and bacteria can spread. Not to mention DNA.

It would be great if something were done with the DNA LE claim to have. I'd have thought by now there should have been some kind of announcement or update but there never is.

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

^^^^^^But he was careless enough to tramp blood stains so LE could identify the boot make. This is a conundrum. And he seems to be careful enough to not get caught. I wonder if he killed himself and if so, would his DNA have been checked?

 

[Lexiintoronto]

^^^^^^But he was careless enough to tramp blood stains so LE could identify the boot make. This is a conundrum. And he seems to be careful enough to not get caught. I wonder if he killed himself and if so, would his DNA have been checked?

If the person’s DNA sample was taken during an autopsy and it turns out a crime wasn’t involved (a suicide, for example), the DNA sample is taken and the results are stored, but cannot be accessed by LE to run a match unless LE has reasonable grounds to check it (such as the Hoover case.)

Hoover killed himself in 2015, so his DNA was on file at the CFS. They used genetic genealogy to help identify the relatives of the killer of Christine Jessop, and it led to Hoover. Once they had reasonable grounds to access his DNA, they were able to prove he was the killer.

“From there, police learned that an autopsy had been conducted on Hoover when he died in 2015 — meaning there was a DNA sample on file with Ontario’s Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS).

After police obtained a judge’s permission to access the DNA, detectives were able to cross-reference the DNA sample taken from Jessop’s underwear with Hoover’s DNA from his 2015 autopsy.

They matched.

(Police can’t simply run a DNA sample from a crime scene against the samples held by the CFS, because they require reasonable grounds to access individual samples.)”

How DNA and a genealogy website helped lead to the killer of Christine Jessop | The Star

We have a national DNA database of convicted criminals (that committed certain types of offences) that LE can access in order to solve crimes, but that’s separate.

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

Lexie’s post above made me think of who the persons of interest might be in Sonia’s case. Nothing!

‘Who left the DNA?’ Sonia Varaschin murder investigators exploring ‘new science’ to find Orangeville nurse’s killer

THE ISSUE: Unsolved murder LOCAL IMPACT: Family, community waits for answers nearly a decade later

www.hamiltonnews.com

 

[2soccermom]

What did Sonia have for dinner that last night? Surely LE must have some idea....
Was there evidence she made dinner? Ordered in? Were there dishes in the sink or dishwasher, food in the fridge and/or garbage?

If she made dinner, was it something simple -- or something more elaborate? How much might investigators guestimate she made, consumed, and had left over? Does it appear she had wine or other alcohol in her system (could they tell, even if she wasn't found for a week?) and, if so, was Sonia someone who might typically have a drink with dinner or in the evening -- or was she perhaps someone who never drank alone? How many drinking glasses were on the table, counter, in LR or BR, was there DNA other than Sonia's on any such items?

Does LE have any answers to these Qs?

 

[2soccermom]

In 2010, did Sonia have a cell phone? Do we know?
If she did, what story can it tell about her movements that afternoon and evening?

What were her computer searches that day? What emails did she send -- and receive?

Technology has advanced in the past decade; could a fresh examination of her devices yield anything new?

I hope LE has more answers/info for much of what we're not privy to.
Do they have someone they strongly suspect, but just can't move ahead for lack of material evidence?

 

[2soccermom]

W-H-E-R-E is Sonia's car key????

Was the car key/key ring found in the car, discarded nearby, or IS IT STILL MISSING? *IF* the latter: did Sonia have anything specific or unique for a keychain?

Could LE *PLEASE* give us something to keep an eye out for, if indeed her car key/key ring is still missing????