ORANGEVILLE, Ont. – Ontario Provincial Police say the FBI is helping investigators in the case of murdered Orangeville woman Sonia Varaschin.
The 42-year-old nurse was reported missing in August and her body was found in a wooded area a few days later.
Provincial police say criminal profilers from the FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit in Virginia recently met with investigators on the case – along with experts from the OPP and RCMP.
The "investigative summit" also included senior homicide detectives from the provincial police force as well as from the York Region, Ottawa and Toronto forces.
Orangeville’s police Chief Joseph Tomei and Det.-Insp. Mark Pritchard of the provincial police will hold a news conference Thursday to talk about the summit and give an update on the investigation.
A member of the Varaschin family will also attend to appeal to the public for help in the case, and to speak about the family’s first Christmas without Sonia.
Police have released few details on the investigation but have revealed the killer wore a specific type of boot sold only at Mark’s Work Wearhouse.
The boots are a men’s size 10 or 11, sold under the Wind River or Dakota brand name, Pritchard told a news conference in September.
Investigators have asked members of the public to think back to the last days of August, when the killer may have come home with unexplained stains on his clothes or boots.
Varaschin was reported missing on Aug. 30 after she failed to show up at work. Her blood-stained car, a white Toyota Corolla, was found in an alley the same day.
Police also found blood inside and outside her home, and had asked the public to be on the lookout for blood-stained bedding.
Days of ground, air and trail searches of the Orangeville area – which is predominantly rural – failed to find traces of the missing woman.
Remains discovered days later in a wooded area in Caledon – about 12 kilometres from Orangeville – were later confirmed as Varaschin’s.
Pritchard has said there were a "number of persons of interest" and numerous leads and tips in the case but has not spoken about any possible suspects.
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