DNA is solving cold cases everywhere. One true-crime writer thinks that’s a tricky path, but maybe we’ll have to accept the findings of DNA testing as the proof that the body in the river was, in fact, that of a missing girl and not a man in a mask (or a man, period).
The body of 5-year-old Samantha Moulson is found floating in a pond in Toronto last week. It was discovered by a swim instructor who was teaching a group on a lake adjacent to the park where the girl’s body was found, and her mother had been looking out for her.
“She’s a beautiful, vibrant young woman and her death has really struck a chord with people,” said Toronto police spokesperson Det. Sgt. Eric Gripp on this week’s Today Show. “Samantha did not choose to be at this park. She did not choose to be there, and we feel sorry for her family.”
Police immediately suspected that Samantha could have been dropped off there, and then carried into the park by someone or some things — perhaps by a dog, who was then killed, then put in the pond.
But the possibility of the dog as the murderer still hangs in the air since the dog’s DNA was not matched to any of the samples collected from the pond. Police are pursuing every lead, and have so far been unable to find the animal. They’re also trying to find the girl’s mother, who has not been located.
Police spokesman Det. Const. Jim Gotts, Jr. said the dog has a “very high likelihood” of being the killer. The investigators have to “move with the speed and caution that is required” to find out if it is.
In the meantime, police say they are holding classes for the community in order to help them get to the bottom of the case.
“Samantha is not a random murder victim,” stated Det. Const. Gripp. “She was intentionally chosen to be found in that park. We feel an extremely strong sense of anger