For decades, the brutal murders of three women in Ontario haunted investigators and captivated criminologist Michael Arntfield. Christine Prince, a young Welsh nanny, vanished in 1982, her disappearance sparking a chilling investigation that would later become a cornerstone in the study of serial killers. The case possessed all the hallmarks of a predator meticulously selecting victims, a terrifying pattern that remained unsolved for years.
Last week, a decades-long quest for justice reached a somber conclusion. Toronto Police and the OPP announced the identification of the perpetrator: Kenneth Leslie Smith, a man who died of lung cancer in Windsor in 2019. Smith was linked not only to Prince’s murder, but also to the deaths of Claire Sampson in 1983 and nurse Gracelyn Greenidge in 1997 – a chilling confirmation of Arntfield’s long-held suspicions.
Arntfield, who has spent over a decade analyzing the Prince case, explained that it “ticked every box of a mid-career serial killer.” The presence of three distinct crime scenes, the number of victims aligning with a typical pattern, and the disturbing evidence of stolen personal items all pointed to a calculated and predatory mind at work. Prince’s purse was discarded along a highway, her umbrella abandoned near her home, and her body discovered in a river – a trail of unsettling clues.
The choice of Christine Prince as a first victim was particularly unsettling. She lived in a respectable neighborhood, and her disappearance would inevitably be noticed, making her a “high-risk” target for a killer seeking to avoid detection. This contrasted with the medium-risk profile of Claire Sampson, and the surprisingly high-risk nature of the Greenidge murder, given the nurse’s age and precautions.
A disturbing pattern emerged: a 14-year gap between the murders of Sampson and Greenidge. This “cooling off period” is not uncommon among serial killers, as exemplified by the infamous BTK, who attributed his inactivity to the demands of raising a family. Arntfield suggests Smith may have either successfully suppressed his urges or simply remained capable of resuming his horrific acts.
Investigators believe Smith’s crimes were random acts of opportunity, targeting victims with no apparent connection. The women differed significantly in age, race, and physical characteristics, and the methods of their murders – shooting, beating, and drowning – varied, suggesting a killer driven by impulse rather than a specific type of victim.
The confirmation of Smith’s guilt has opened a new, unsettling chapter in the investigation. Arntfield suspects that Smith’s dark history extends beyond the three confirmed murders, potentially encompassing a series of unsolved sexual assaults and homicides. He estimates the true number of victims could be at least five, hidden within the gaps of Smith’s life.
Born in Timmins, Smith lived in Toronto during the murders before relocating to Windsor in 2013. Now, detectives face the daunting task of meticulously examining his life, searching for clues to uncover the full extent of his crimes. The identification of Kenneth Leslie Smith may not be the end of the story, but rather the beginning of a painful reckoning with the horrors that lie hidden in the past.
As one observer noted, echoing Winston Churchill’s words on D-Day, this revelation isn’t the end of the investigation, but the end of the beginning. The work of piecing together the fragments of Smith’s life, and potentially identifying more victims, has only just begun.
