The Unsolved Murder of Veronica Kaye

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Case File Overview

On November 7th, 1980, eighteen-year-old Veronica Kaye left the Etobicoke, Ontario apartment she shared with her grandmother to drop by a friend at work and then go shopping.

Veronica’s residence: 287 Markland Dr., Etobicoke

Source: Toronto.com

Veronica boarded a Mississauga Transit bus, and eventually arrived at Cherish Photography, a store located in a small strip mall at 500 Hensall Circle in Mississauga, Ontario, at around 1:30PM.

Veronica’s friend Elaine worked at the store, and Veronica had stopped in to pick up a pair of jeans and two shirts she was considering wearing to a party the following evening.

While chatting with her friend, Veronica mentioned she was getting a ride to the Square One Shopping Centre from someone who was waiting outside in his car, but never mentioned the name of the individual. Elaine did not have the opportunity to see the vehicle or the driver.

Elaine later told the authorities that Veronica seemed in good spirits and there was zero indication anything was wrong. As she was leaving, Veronica mentioned she would call her friend later that day.



When Veronica failed to call Elaine or show up at the party, people began to grow concerned. And by Monday November 10th, Veronica’s worried Grandma who had not seen or heard from her granddaughter in days called the authorities and reported her missing.

The police quickly began a thorough investigation and numerous searches for Veronica were conducted. However, there was no sign of Veronica.

Veronica Kaye missing person poster

Source: Ontario Provincial Police

On October 9th, 1981, almost a year after her disappearance, Veronica’s remains were found. Two men walking in a wooded area in Caledon, Ontario stumbled upon her body near the intersection of Humber Station Road and Castlederg Sideroad.

Location of Veronica’s body

Source: Toronto.com

When Veronica was located, she had on the same clothing she was wearing at the time of her disappearance: a red down-filled nylon ski vest, a maroon blouse, blue jeans, and brown running shoes with a white stripe.

Due to extreme decomposition, Veronica had to be identified through dental records. An autopsy found that Veronica was beaten and had received numerous blows to her head. Her skull was fractured and there were defensive wounds on her hands, as if she had been warding off blows from her attacker. The authorities have never released if Veronica was sexually assaulted.



Both the bag of clothing Veronica had borrowed from Elaine and her purse were not at the scene and have never been found.



Veronica’s murder remains unsolved.

Case File Theories

Due to the lack of information in this case, it is difficult to formulate any solid suspect theories. In fact, it is easy to be left with more questions than answers.

One of the more crucial questions often considered is if Veronica was killed by someone within her inner circle or a stranger.

By all accounts, Veronica enjoyed a life typical of most teenagers. Although she lived with her grandma because she felt it afforded her a little more freedom, she had part-time jobs, was accepted into a Humber College program, and liked to have fun and hang out with her regular group of friends.

I think it is extremely unlikely Veronica was killed by someone she knew. It does not seem like she hung out with a bad crowd. The police stated, “Everyone who knew Veronica or was associated to her had been interviewed.” No suspects were uncovered during these interviews.

It also would strike me as odd if Veronica had gotten a ride from a friend and did not mention that person’s name to her friend Elaine. Chances are, they both then would have known the person, and it would have made sense for the person to either come into the photo shop as well, or at least be mentioned by name in conversation.

Given that a bus transfer was found with her body, it is likely that while on her way to visit Elaine Veronica took one bus and then got off to transfer to another. While waiting for the second bus, Veronica was probably approached by stranger who offered her a ride or she became sick of waiting and decided to hitchhike.

Veronica’s father, Ron, has confirmed his daughter and her friends occasionally hitchhiked, a much more common occurrence at the time.

I think whoever gave Veronica a ride from the bus stop was her killer. Keep in mind, though, it is not known if Veronica ever made it to the Square One Shopping Centre after leaving the photo shop. On the small chance that she did, then Veronica could have been killed by someone while she was leaving the mall or on her way home.



Ron has said the police informed him they had strong suspect at one point in the investigation. The suspect was “a painter who frequented Mississauga and who had a white van.” However, by the time Ron learned about this potential break in the case, the suspect was already dead. The police refuse to release any other information about this suspect, citing privacy concerns.

In 2009, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released images of a unique button found under Veronica’s remains that did not come from her clothing. Police are actively seeking the public’s help to identify the source of this button.

Button found under Veronica’s body

Source: Ontario Provincial Police

The button is a clip-on style, not sewn onto fabric. It has a raised symbol on it that looks like the number 8, the infinity symbol, or a winding snake. The authorities hope the button can somehow be linked back to the killer.

Although the police have said they sent off evidence from the case for DNA testing, they will not disclose if they were able to obtain any DNA. If they did, hopefully one day it gets a hit in a DNA database and results in a break in the case.

Who do you think killed Veronica?

In November 2018, the OPP created and released a video overview of Veronica’s case to reinvigorate interest.

The authorities have not given up on finding Veronica’s murderer. OPP Detective Inspector Darren Webster of the Criminal Investigation Branch explained, “It would take something as simple as somebody who has knowledge to come forward with either a name or an address or any knowledge of what happened to Veronica, and that’s what it’s going to take to solve this case.”

When asked how he would feel if he could finally learn who killed his daughter, Ron said, ” It would be a relief. It would be (that) a sense of justice has been served. I think someone knows, and if there is a way of getting to them … or just giving their heart a little tweak, maybe they would (come forward).”

A $50,000 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Veronica’s murder. If you have any information, please call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Related Reading

“Veronica Kaye” – Ontario Provincial Police case file overview

“COLD CASE: Who killed Veronica Lynn Kaye in 1981?” – Toronto Sun article

“COLD CASE: Veronica Kaye murdered 38 years ago, body found in Caledon” – Caledon Enterprise article

“ONTARIO COLD CASE: Reward offered in 38-year-old unsolved murder” – Caledon Enterprise article

“ONTARIO COLD CASE: Family, police still seek answers to murder of teen 38 years later” – Toronto.com article

“OPP hope video can help solve 1980 cold case of murdered Toronto woman” – CBC News article

Unsolved: True Canadian Cold Cases – book by Robert J. Hoshowsky

Interested in unsolved murder cases? Check out the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders and the slaying of Devon Allaire-Bell.

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