Lori Marilyn Pinkus, 21, was found in the parking lot of Brockton High School at 90 Croatia Street on the morning of September 8, 1991. She was partially nude and had suffered a violent assault; investigators determined she had been strangled. Emergency crews could not revive her and she was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been living in Toronto’s west end and working around Bloor Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, and was last seen leaving a bar after a drink with friends in the early hours that Sunday.

Pinkus grew up in Ottawa as the youngest of nine children and had survived a separate, serious stabbing in 1990; two men were charged then with attempted murder but the prosecution did not proceed after she failed to appear in court. Police say there is no established link between that earlier attack and her killing in Toronto. The original homicide probe developed many persons of interest who were ultimately eliminated and no one was charged.

Decades later, reexamination of 1991 evidence produced a male DNA profile that police believe belongs to her killer, but authorities have not publicly identified a matching individual or made an arrest. The case remains an open cold case. If anyone knew Lori, saw her that night, or has information about her final hours, please come forward.