 Police are hoping to collect DNA samples from men who may have met or known slain nurse Sonia Varaschin around the time of her death last August. (Supplied Photo)
|
TORONTO — Investigators seeking Sonia Varaschin's killer hope scores of Orangeville-area men will say "aah" and volunteer DNA samples.
A specialist team will start taking inner-cheek swabs "within the next few days," said Const. Peter Leon of the Ontario Provincial Police.
He said they hope to collect samples from any man over 18 who knew or met the nurse around the time she was slain in her Spring St. home last August.
"It's voluntary," Leon said. "Anybody who is not involved will certainly come forward."
The rarely used procedure is being conducted "in an attempt to eliminate persons of interest," he said.
DNA that doesn't match evidence homicide investigators seized will be destroyed after it's tested at the Centre of Forensic Sciences, Leon said. Staff at the Toronto-based laboratory will forward letters to donors to confirm the elimination of non-suspicious samples.
"Some people may be concerned that this DNA could be used in the future," he said. "That's not the case."
OPP Det.-Insp. Andy Karski and a team of provincial and town officers continue to review evidence and tips.
Relatives reported Varaschin, 42, missing when she didn't turn up for work on Aug. 30 at a Mississauga, Ont., pharmaceutical firm.
Her blood-stained white Toyota Corolla was found in an alley near the Orangeville town hall, not far from the two-storey townhouse where Varaschin lived alone. At the house, officers found numerous bloodstains in the bedroom and no sign of forced entry.
There was an intense manhunt in and around the town of 27,000 located northwest of Toronto.
On Sept. 5, a man walking his dog spotted Varaschin's body near a wooded area in Caledon, Ont., east of Orangeville.
Police said the killer is believed to have used Varaschin's car to transport the body, then abandoned it in the town.
No cause of death has been revealed.
In an interview Monday, Attalio Varaschin said his daughter's murder is "still very fresh." He expressed confidence the killer will surrender or be caught.
Based on footprints, investigators last fall said her killer likely wore size 10-11 work boots sold at Mark's Work Wearhouse stores.
After FBI behaviour analysis agents concluded Varaschin's killer knows the area, likely exhibited unusual behaviour, including unexplained absences from work, missed appointments, increased drinking and may have moved.
