Catherine McDonald
Crime Specialist
Catherine McDonald is Global News Toronto’s veteran crime reporter. Catherine worked as a reporter in Red Deer, Alberta and Victoria, BC before moving to Toronto in November 2000 where she has worked at Global since. She began reporting exclusively on crime shortly after covering the release of Karla Homolka from prison in 2005.
A graduate of McGill University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Catherine has covered some of the biggest crime stories in the Greater Toronto Area over the years, including the disappearance and murder of 10-year-old Holly Jones in 2003, the murder of Markham woman Alicia Ross in 2005, the Bruce McArthur serial killer investigation and the murders of billionaires Honey and Barry Sherman.
Spending a lot of time in court, some of the notable trials she won’t forget include the trial of two Mississauga sisters convicted of first-degree murder after drowning their mother in a bathtub in 2002, the trial of a Toronto anaesthesiologist convicted of sexually assaulting 21 women while they were sedated on the operating room table between 2006 and 2010 and the trial of three Toronto police officers charged with gang sexual assault. More recently, Catherine has covered the trial of a man found guilty of driving while drunk and stoned – killing a young father who was the son-in-law of a senior officer from York Regional Police – and the guilty plea and sentencing of a once well-respected lawyer who was married to a Justice of the Peace from Newmarket, who was convicted of bigamy and forging divorce documents.
When not chasing bad guys and telling the stories of the victims left behind, Catherine can be found at the gym or at the playground chasing after her two young girls.
Contact Catherine McDonald
Video Archives
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Toronto police look for suspect in fatal double shooting
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Police investigating fatal double shooting in Ontario community
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Man gets 3-year jail sentence for ex-CBC producer’s death
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SIU probing man’s fatal fall from condo balcony near Sherway Gardens
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Ontario man accused of setting fire to his wife and killing her testifies in her own defence
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Murder trial for man accused of setting fire to his wife in Toronto begins
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Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard sentence to 11 years in prison for sexual assault
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Peter Nygard sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault convictions in Toronto
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‘Ghost ride’ planned for Toronto after 6th cyclist killed this year
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Sentencing begins in fatal wrong way collision on Highway 401
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Man convicted of impaired driving in Ontario ordered to jail after appeal fails
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It has been 7 years since a brazen fatal shooting inside a North York shopping mall and still no arrests.
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Ten years since Jelena Loncar was shot to death outside Toronto nightclub, case remains unsolved
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Hunt continues for suspect in Etobicoke double murder
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Shooting in Toronto’s Beaches area leaves residents on edge
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Trial begins for man accused of driving impaired and causing a fatal crash in Brampton
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Family of Toronto man seriously injured in hit-and-run collision begs for driver to turn himself in
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Police in York Region have busted 3 men during a commercial break-and-enter investigation
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Chopper footage captures 3 Toronto-area carjacking arrests
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Father, son arrested in Toronto terror plot appear in court
Author Archives
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‘He was reckless’: Man gets 3-year jail sentence for ex-CBC producer’s deathA judge has sentenced Robert Robin Cropearedwolf to three years in prison and three years probation for the manslaughter of former CBC radio producer Michael Finlay.CrimeSep 17
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Ontario man accused of setting fire to his wife says her death was ‘very bad accident’The 41-year-old explained he only wanted to remove his wife's dyed hair which, in his mind, represented an adulterous relationship she was having.CrimeSep 11
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‘Mom was already on fire’: Chilling 911 call played during murder trial of Ontario manThe 12-minute 911 call from June 17, 2022, was played in court on the opening day of the continuing first-degree murder trial of Norbert Budai in Toronto.CrimeSep 10
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Husband of cyclist killed on Toronto road speaks out: ‘I’m incomplete without her’The husband of Toronto's latest cyclist fatality says he is broken without his wife, who was in her second year studying in the city.CrimeSep 6
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‘Never forgive’: Family of father killed in wrong-way 401 crash calls for justicePolice were called to the scene of the crash on Dec. 30 just after 5 a.m., rushing to the westbound lanes of Highway 401 near Brock Road in Pickering.CrimeSep 4
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Ontario man ordered to report to prison almost 4 years after impaired driving deathKevin Hyde's bail was revoked after the appeal failed and he was told to report to a correctional facility within 72 hours. He was found guilty of impaired driving in 2023.CrimeSep 3
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Victim’s family renews appeal to find killers years after fatal Toronto mall shootingIt has been seven years since a fatal shooting inside a North York shopping mall and still no arrests. The victim's mother is asking anyone who has information to come forward.CrimeAug 30
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She was killed outside a Toronto nightclub 10 years ago. Police haven’t made an arrestJelena Loncar was shot by a stray bullet in 2014 outside a nightclub in downtown Toronto. A decade later, the investigation continues without an arrest.CrimeAug 27
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Ontario man on trial for fatal crash while allegedly impaired denies he was drivingIn September 2021, a man taking an Uber home in Brampton was involved in a collision and was killed. The trial for the man accused of causing that crash has begun.CrimeAug 9
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Police lay kidnapping charge as search for missing Ontario woman continuesYork Regional Police have charged a man with kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of an Ontario woman under “suspicious” circumstances.CrimeJul 29
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Man who pushed senior woman over as he ran up Yonge Street guilty of manslaughterA Toronto man was found guilty of pushing an 89-year-old women leading to her sudden death as he ran up Yonge Street, telling the court he had had a stressful day.CrimeJul 23
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Toronto seniors killed in apparent murder-suicide identified by neighboursPolice said they received a call for a person with a knife at Don Mills and Cliffwood roads, just south of Steeles Avenue in North York, around 2:50 p.m. July 21.CrimeJul 22
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‘It was me’: Witness says he saw suspect surrender in Oshawa double homicideNeighbours and witnesses recounted the moments leading up to and after a fatal double shooting in Oshawa, Ont., on Saturday that left a former hockey player and art teacher dead.CrimeJul 15
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Family of woman killed in Gardiner hit-and-run speaks out, driver granted bailThe family of a woman killed in a fatal hit-and-run on the Gardiner Expressway are describing the heartbreak the crash has caused them. The accused driver was granted bail Friday.CrimeJul 12
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‘A menace’: Man who pleaded guilty to fatal Gardiner Expressway crash gets 5-year sentenceA 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death of two people in a Gardiner Expressway crash in 2021. He will serve a prison sentence and license suspension.CrimeJul 12
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Toronto woman who left baby unattended in bathtub pleads guilty to manslaughterCrown attorneys will be seeking a custodial sentence between four to six years behind bars for the boy's mother.CrimeJul 11
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Repeat offender who killed Scottish pedestrian in Toronto hit-and-run gets 4.5 years in prisonA 44-year-old repeat offender with 53 prior convictions has been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison after striking, killing a pedestrian in downtown Toronto in 2022.CrimeJun 26
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Ontario man guilty of killing, decapitating mom can apply for parole in 13 yearsDallas Ly, who admitted to stabbing Tien Ly to death, before severing her head and trying to dispose of her remains, was in court Wednesday for his sentencing hearing.CrimeJun 26
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Guilty plea: Ex-boyfriend admits to killing Ontario woman after breaking into her homeCourt heard that there was a history of physical violence and threats in the relationship dating back to 2011. The couple met each other in Grade 8.CrimeJun 25
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Toronto teen acquitted after fatal stabbing on high school propertyOn Friday, Superior Court Justice Katherine Corrick acquitted Rafin of the manslaughter of his friend 15-year-old Maahir Dosani, a grade 11 student at the school.CrimeJun 21
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Ex-Ontario firefighter pleads guilty to wife’s murder after body found in flaming carA Collingwood man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a case involving his wife in which her body found inside a burning SUV more than a year ago.CrimeJun 20
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Gunman in Toronto office shooting blamed victims for ‘losing our life’s savings’A gunman who allegedly killed two people in a Toronto office building earlier this week blamed them for 'losing our life’s savings,' his spouse says.CrimeJun 19
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Man who set woman ablaze on Toronto bus was ‘actively psychotic’, deemed not criminally responsibleTenzin Norbu, the man who killed a woman by setting her on fire onboard a Toronto transit bus, has been found not criminally responsible.CanadaJun 11
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Man who set woman ablaze on Toronto bus not criminally responsible, Crown, defence sayA Toronto man who set a stranger on fire on a TTC bus in June 2022 is not guilty of first-degree murder due to a mental illness, Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers say.CrimeJun 10
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Forensic psychiatrist says Ontario man on trial for murder of parents was not suffering psychosisAccording to the facts, just weeks before killing his parents, his mother called the police after the man got into an argument with a female friend at the family home.CrimeJun 5