Edgar Leonardo

Edgar Leonardo, known to friends as “Iggy,” was a 36-year-old Air Canada employee who enjoyed an active social life in his Vancouver, British Columbia, community. Living in the city’s vibrant West End, he was a loved member of his circle and is remembered for his warm presence. His life was cut short in a brutal act of violence that has left his loved ones without answers for nearly two decades.

On the night of Saturday, August 23, 2003, Edgar was murdered inside his apartment on Comox Street. Investigators with the Vancouver Police Department believe he met his killer sometime late that evening, likely in the city's nearby gay village, and invited the person back to his home. Four days passed before his landlady made the tragic discovery of his body. While police have not released specific details about the cause of death or the state of the crime scene, the murder has been described as a possible "crime of passion."

The initial investigation struggled to gain traction. Detective Richard Akin, the lead investigator in the early stages, appealed to the public for help, stating he needed a break in the case. He asked for anyone who might have seen Edgar on the evening of August 23rd or early the next morning to come forward. While police were quick to state there was no evidence to suggest a predator was targeting the gay community, the lack of leads was frustrating. A crucial piece of evidence was recovered from the apartment: the suspect’s DNA. However, when it was run through Canada's national DNA databank of convicted offenders, no match was found.

For years, the case grew cold, but advances in forensic technology provided new hope. In 2017, fourteen years after the murder, the Vancouver Police Department turned to Parabon NanoLabs, a U.S.-based firm specializing in DNA phenotyping. Using the suspect DNA from the crime scene, the lab generated a composite sketch of a person of interest. The image, created through a process called "Snapshot," predicted the physical appearance and ancestry of the unknown individual, offering the public the first glimpse of a face possibly connected to the crime.

The investigation took another significant step forward in May 2019, when the Vancouver Police Department became the first police force in Canada to publicly confirm its use of investigative genetic genealogy. This is the same technique that famously led to the arrest of the "Golden State Killer" in California. The department again hired Parabon NanoLabs to use the suspect's DNA profile to search public genealogical databases like GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA. The goal was to find distant relatives of the suspect, build a family tree, and ultimately zero in on the killer's identity.

As of May 2019, homicide investigators were actively pursuing leads generated through genetic genealogy. "I think about what the original investigator saw in 2003 and I look at the lay of the land and I wonder, you know, which way the suspect left," Vancouver homicide detective Sergeant Mike Heard said while standing outside Edgar's former apartment building. With good DNA evidence in hand, he expressed optimism that the new technology would finally help identify the person responsible for Edgar Leonardo's death. The case remains an active and open investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the murder of Edgar Leonardo is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department at 604-717-2500 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.