On Friday, April 27, 1973, at about 7:30 a.m., an 18 year old male, was on his way to school, taking a short cut through a vacant lot. As he walked north on the east side of the lot he discovered the fully-clothed bodies of two females lying together in a pool of blood.
He then went to a nearby factory at 949 Wilson Avenue and called police, who attended at the scene a short time later and commenced an investigation.
The two victims were identified as 17 year old Donna STEARNE and 17 year old Wendy Ann TEDFORD.
Autopsies revealed that both girls had been shot in the head. The shells recovered indicated a .38 calibre weapon had been used.
Investigations reveal that on Thursday April 26, the two close friends arranged to go out shopping. Donna left home about 7:00 p.m. and arrived at Wendy's apartment about 7:30 p.m. The two left the apartment shortly after.
They travelled via public transit to the Yorkdale Mall where they spent a couple of hours. They left the mall and travelled by bus to the area of Keele Street north of Wilson Avenue. They were last seen in the "Sit n' Eat" Restaurant at about 10:45 p.m., ordering cokes. They did not stay long, and no one saw them leave shortly after 11:00 p.m.
The crime scene is only a short distance away from the restaurant.
After the bodies of the two girls were discovered, the residential area east of the lot was canvassed and several residents reported hearing loud bangs around midnight on Thursday.
Despite the short time from the last sighting to the believed time of deaths, all enquiries by police failed to provide sufficient information to resolve the matter.
Several months later, in an unrelated investigation, Ontario Provincial Police officers in the Windsor, Ontario area, recovered a .38 Colt revolver, 6 shot, with a 6" barrel. The revolver was routinely submitted by the O.P.P for examination at the Firearms Section of the Centre of Forensic Sciences. The Colt was examined and positively identified as being the weapon that fired the bullets which killed both girls.
It was determined that the Colt revolver had been stolen from a home in the Windsor area during a break and enter several months prior to the girls' murder. Extensive enquiries in the Windsor area failed to reveal any information concerning the homicide.
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