HUNTER: Toronto cops close to arrest in bloody cold-case murder of arcade owner?

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There are the homicides that define a great city, forever seared into our collective memories.

The horrific slaying of shoeshine boy Emanuel Jaques in the filthy summer of 1977, the Just Desserts murder, the icing of Mob boss Paul Volpe, stuffed in the trunk of his wife’s BMW at Pearson.

And then there were the half-dozen disappearances and murders of young girls in the 1980s.

Most homicides are soon forgotten, lost to time.

Only the victims’ families remember. And the homicide detectives who serve as our collective memory of the dark past and the swords of our never-ending quest for justice.

Nick Gournis went into the books as homicide 0531988. Cops have never caught his killer(s) but now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“We’re going over Mr. Gournis’ case top to bottom and resubmitting the evidence for testing,” Toronto Police cold-case unit boss Det. Sgt. Steve Smith told the Toronto Sun. “We believe the killer is residing in the GTA. It’s only a matter of time now.”

And if the veteran detective sounds confident, he should. Smith and his unit have earned a North American-wide rep for knocking down long-unsolved cases.

Nick Gournis was a hard-working 50-year-old Greek immigrant who had become prosperous through his video arcade. An endless stream of quarters and tireless work ethic allowed him to prosper and provide a good life for his wife and two daughters.

On Dec. 23, 1988, two teens peering through the window of Gournis’ Galactic Amusements arcade on Kingston Rd. at Victoria Park Ave. saw something no kid should.

Just after midnight, they saw Gournis laying inside, battered to a bloody pulp. Cops said a baseball bat was the killer’s weapon of choice.

Gournis died several hours later at Toronto East General Hospital, his 20-year Canadian dream ending in tears. Motive: Robbery.

Back in 1988, David McPake lived above his locksmith business next to the arcade. McPake told reporters he awoke to banging. Two kids were knocking on the arcade door.

They told McPake that Gournis’ bloodied body could be seen slumped in the rear of the business. While he called cops and an ambulance, the boys kicked the door in.

Upon entry, they noted there was “blood all over the place.” Detectives believe the killers locked the doors after their vile deed.

Cops were keen to talk to a trio of young men aged 18 to 20 seen hanging around outside the arcade between 10 p.m. and midnight. Two of the trio were white, the other Black.

The arcade was across the road from Neil McNeil Secondary School. Packed with video and pinball machines, Gournis proved the old maxim of the importance of location, location, location.

Some of the arcade’s neighbours weren’t as keen on kids milling about. A petition targeted the young crowds loitering outside.

Cops set up a command post with the intention of questioning every kid who was in the arcade from 6 p.m. on.

And then, nothing. There are heartbreaking few mentions of Nick Gournis after 1988, lost to all but his family, friends and murder police.

Smith wants that narrative turned on its head.

“New information, including an offender profile and forensics, has emerged that may finally bring some sense of closure — and justice — to Mr. Gournis’ family,” the detective said.

“We’re very, very close.”

If you have any information on the murder of Nick Gournis, contact the TPS homicide squad at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun