Cold Case Files: 32 years later, Ontario mother still searching for daughter’s killer

The community of Queensville, Ont., has a dark shadow hanging over its history.

Nine-year-old Christine Jessop went missing on Oct. 3, 1984 and her remains were discovered three months later in a rural part of Durham Region.

Christine’s mother, Janet Jessop, is still looking for her daughter’s killer.

“I want to find him and that’s my goal,” Jessop said.

“Where is the person that did it? We are talking [32] years later. She’d be 41 or 42 now. Where is he? That’s the question I have. The second question I have is, why?”

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Janet said there was nothing peculiar about the day her daughter went missing.

Christine was supposed to be at home after a short bus ride from school while her mother and older brother were out running errands.

“I had told her not to leave the house if I wasn’t home. If she got home from school and I wasn’t home, don’t leave the house and just stay with Freckles (the family’s dog) and she’d be fine,” Jessop said.

Police said the nine-year-old had plans to meet up with a friend later that evening at nearby park, but Christine never showed up.

She was last seen purchasing a pack of gum from a convenience store down the road from her home.

WATCH: Extended interview with Janet Jessop, Christine Jessop’s mother. 

3:23 Cold Case Files: extended interview with Christine Jessop’s mother, Janet Jessop

“We looked everywhere and finally we thought, ‘OK, we better call the police. Something is wrong.'”

On New Year’s Eve 1984, Christine’s body was found more than 50 kilometres away from her Queensville home.

The nine-year-old was raped and murdered.

“As soon as we saw our minister and police walk up the driveway, we knew,” Jessop said.

“You can’t fathom it. You can’t unless you’ve gone through it. There’s just no way you can understand your feelings.”

Toronto Police Service homicide unit Det. Sgt. Stacy Gallant said it’s likely Christine was transported by vehicle to Durham Region.

“No one wants to see a young child taken and murdered and not found for an extended period of time. It’s difficult for society,” he said.

“It’s difficult for the community.”

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Police identified Christine’s neighbour, Guy Paul Morin, as a person of interest and he was convicted in the nine-year-old’s death.

However, advancements in DNA testing lead to Morin’s exoneration in 1995. He served 18 months in jail.

“DNA was located and it was found not to be that of the person that was ultimately convicted for this murder,” Gallant said.

Toronto police took carriage of the case after Morin was cleared.

To date, Christine’s murderer has never been found and police are still searching for the person responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police homicide unit at 416-808-7400, homicide@torontopolice.on.ca or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Watch Global News at 5:30 & 6 p.m. ET Thursdays for our weekly Cold Case Files series.

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