HUNTER: Cops hunt killers who murdered 'legit, good kid'

Article content

Forty-three names and faces fill the boxes on the Toronto Police cold case page for March.

The oldest is the brutal March 9, 1959 slaying of 12-year-old Patricia Lupton, who answered a bogus ad for a babysitter on a bulletin board in and old A&P store and only found death and terror.

Like others on this wall of tears, her murder remains unsolved.

Det. Sgt. Stephen Smith, of the homicide unit’s cold case squad, told the Toronto Sun the unsolved murder of Patrick Pitters, 19, was nothing short of senseless.

“He was a legit good kid, working in the public service,” Smith said.

But on March 4, 2004, Pitters was watching videos with friends at an apartment at 283 Pharmacy Ave. when two masked gunmen burst into the apartment and a struggle ensued. The killers squeezed off two rounds.

Both bullets struck — and killed — Pitters.

“He was a great kid. There was no reason for Patrick to be targeted in this shooting,” Smith said, adding, “there were a number of Patrick’s friends in the apartment at the time of the shooting. People know the identity of the shooter.”

Smith said cops have a “good idea” of the killer’s identity as well, but until someone comes forward to confirm the suspicions of detectives, Pitters’ murder will go unavenged.

Donna Ogilvie was struggling to make a go of it on the mean streets of Toronto as a sex worker. Her home was a shelter.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

“She was a vulnerable person in our society, out on the street trying to make a few dollars,” Smith said.

The British Columbia resident, who was born in the Philippines, had only been in Toronto for around five weeks.

On March 9, 1998, Ogilvie was found strangled to death at the corner of Jarvis St and Carlton St. Smith said police have the killer’s DNA, but so far there has been no match.

In many ways, the double murder of Harold and Florence Fagan were the Sherman murders before the Sherman murders.

On March 5, 1978, Harry, 64 — a successful entrepreneur and carnival magnate — and his wife Florence, 63, were dropped off by their chauffeur at their Dewbourne Ave. mansion in posh Forest Hill. It was the last time anyone saw them alive and other than a brief phone call with their daughter, they were never heard from again.

The next morning around 8:30 a.m., cops responded to a 911 call. Inside the home, the couple were found shot to death in a rear room.

The house had been ransacked, but there didn’t appear to be a forced entry. Cops initially believed the slayings were a burglary gone awry, but they soon changed their tune.

One of the Fagan’s business ventures was carnivals, and he was well-known for running concession stands at the CNE. Cops now believe these business dealings were connected to the murders.

“We think there was some disagreement with some carnival people in Montreal,” Smith said, adding that Quebec wasn’t part of Fagan’s territory and his rivals took umbrage.

Now, 44 years later, the murders are consigned to the dustbin unless someone coughs up crucial information that could close it.

If you have any information regarding any of these cases, please contact the Toronto Police homicide squad at 416-808-7400, or at homicide@torontopolice.on.ca, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477).

bhunter@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HunterTOSun