Windsor police receive award for efforts to solve 1971 homicide case

Windsor Police Service Headquarters in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, May 2, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

The Windsor Police Service’s Major Crimes Unit has received an award for their efforts solving the 48-year-old cold case murder of a six-year-old girl.

The Major Crimes Unit received the Ontario Homicide Investigators Association’s (OHIA) 2022 Lynda Shaw Memorial Award for their work in solving the 1971 murder of Ljubica Topic.

“We’re extremely proud of the exceptional work of our Major Crimes Unit,” said acting police Chief Jason Bellaire. “This award underscores the professionalism, dedication and tenacity of the many members who worked on this heinous case over the past 48 years.”

The man responsible for Topic’s murder was successfully identified in 2019, “solving the case and bringing desperately needed resolution to a family that deserved answers,” police say.

Police say Topic was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered on May 14, 1971. She had been playing outside her family’s home on Drouillard Road when a stranger lured her away with the promise of money.

Her body was found about four hours later in an alley nearby.

Police say WPS have investigated more than 700 persons of interested and followed hundreds of tips from Canada and the United States relating to this case over the years.

Identification of the man was eventually possible due to the preservation of evidence from 1971 and one of the first uses of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Canada, police say.

After the man was identified, police said they could not publically release his name as he has since died and cannot be formally charged. He would have been 70 years old. Police said he was a Windsor resident who lived in Topic’s neighbourhood.

The Lynda Shaw Memorial Award is presented each year to recognize the outstanding performance of individuals or teams for their care and commitment in homicide investigations.

Windsor police staff Sgt. Scott Chapman and Const. Terry Dodlich attended the OHIA annual conference in Niagara Falls Thursday night to accept the award on behalf of the Major Crimes Unit.