About the map

The Toronto Star library maintains a database of Toronto homicides dating back to 1960. This map plots homicide locations and basic information for a 15-year period, from 2003 to 2018. Police geocoding was used for the years 2004 to 2017, which places homicides at nearest intersection or apartment building address. For 2003 and 2018, the Star hand-coded locations. The locations reflect where homicides took place, or where people were last seen. The Star database has been crosschecked with police homicide data, Star archives and other media stories. Totals may not equal official police statistics.

Details of homicides are available for 2018 only. The Star chose to turn off details data for earlier years because it could not be sure of outcomes in every case. The victims of accused serial killer Bruce McArthur are grouped together on the map for 2018, the year of his arrest. Police-involved homicides are not included in this map.

Use the slider bar to change the date ranges, and filter by method by clicking the methods on and off. You can help improve the map by flagging problems or sending suggestions to Star librarian Rick Sznajder (RSznajder@thestar.ca).

Credits: David Schnitman, Rick Sznajder, Andrew Bailey, Jim Rankin