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CTV News
14 minutes ago
- CTV News
The Windsor Slasher: 80 years since fear stalked the riverfront
Historians recount Riverside slashings from 80 years ago. CTV Windsor's Travis Fortnum has more. This month marks 80 years since a series of brutal attacks left Windsor gripped by fear — crimes that remain largely forgotten, even as their legacy lingers. In the summer of 1945, Windsor was alive with post-war celebration. Victory in Europe and the Pacific brought home soldiers and filled the downtown with energy. 'Mid-1940s Windsor was a pretty interesting town,' said Mary-Lou Gelissen, local historian with the Windsor Public Library. 'It was a great place to be. But when the night came up, Windsor was a very different town.' Soon, the city would find itself in the grip of a terrifying mystery. 'There occurred a series of attacks and then very brutal killings,' said Patrick Brode, author of The Slasher Killings. 'Men were being attacked by night and very brutally killed.' According to Brode's research, the wave of violence unfolded in a city already marked by wartime anxieties and shifting social values. The return of soldiers, rapid industrialization, and deeply ingrained social conservatism created a powder keg of tension. These attacks lit the match. Each new killing amplified the unease. Rumours spread faster than facts and speculation dominated the headlines. Attack one: July 24, 1945 The first known attack came the night of July 24. George Bruner was found near death in a riverfront park, stabbed seven times. He lived, though the attack left him with severe injuries. 'They said it was an absolute miracle that he survived,' said Gelissen. Bruner told police he had been napping in the park after drinks with friends. While he avoided commenting on his sexuality, Gelissen notes the area he was attacked in was known as a meeting spot for gay men. Homosexuality was a criminal offence in 1945 and revealing what really led him to the riverfront could have seen him arrested. 'George understood the consequences of indicating why he was down there,' Gelissen said. Attack two: August 7, 1945 Just weeks later, 56-year-old mattress factory worker Frank Sciegliski was found dead in an overgrown lot near Windsor's downtown. He had been stabbed six times in the back. 'There were stab wounds in his buttocks, and they were so deep and so violent that he had actually had his pants shredded,' Gelissen said. There were no signs of robbery. His glasses were still on and his straw hat was found beside his body. The murder occurred not far from where Bruner was attacked. WINDSOR SLASHER Windsor police detective surveys the site where Scegliski's body was found, August 8, 1945 (Source: Windsor Police Service, via. Patrick Brode) Attack three: August 16, 1945 A week later, 67-year-old First World War veteran William Davies was found bludgeoned to death with a machinist's hammer inside the G. Tate Easton Garage. His skull was shattered and his face unrecognizable. Though Windsor police initially dismissed it as a robbery gone wrong, the public quickly connected it to the earlier attacks. While Davies had not been stabbed, the level of brutality and timing created widespread fear that this was the work of the same perpetrator. 'It was a very odd and dangerous time in the city,' said Brode. Attack four: August 18, 1945 The most gruesome attack of the summer came just two days later. Sgt. Hugh Blackwood Price, a 45-year-old soldier recently returned from Europe, was found stabbed more than a dozen times. His body was discovered less than 150 yards from where Sciegliski had been killed. Price's throat had been slit, with many of his wounds inflicted after death. 'Society didn't know who to trust anymore,' Brode said. 'People became hysterical with fear. You couldn't go out at night. Everybody was at risk.' Gelissen said copies of newspapers from the time and surviving artifacts paint a picture of a city gripped by panic. 'There was a huge paranoia that happened and fear and what's really sad is that it distracted from the actual crime,' said Gelissen. The letter In spring 1946, a chilling note arrived at Windsor Police headquarters: 'This is a challenge to you. 'I' will strike in the near future... I am not a returned soldier. This is no prank. THE SLASHER.' WINDSOR SLASHER The cover of Brode's book 'The Slasher Killings' features the letter sent to Windsor police in 1946. (Source: Patrick Brode) Written in red and accompanied by a blood-red sketch of a knife, the message revived fears that had just begun to fade. 'It was really a very spooky letter,' Brode said. 'The Windsor police still has about.' As part of the research for his book, Brode was able to examine the letter himself — along with other preserved artifacts still held by police. Summer 1946: The Slasher returns That summer, two more men were attacked. One, John Villeneuve, survived the brutal stabbing. Another, Howard Ainsworth, was not so lucky. Ainsworth, a known gay man, was found dead near the riverfront. 'All of a sudden people realized that it was no mystery,' said Brode. 'The serial killer was not targeting women or children or straight men. He was victimizing one particular group. He was after gay men only.' A weapon, a tip, an arrest One of those attacks led to a break; a butcher's knife with a distinct missing rivet was found at the scene. 'It was a very unusual weapon,' Brode said. 'It was a butcher's knife, but one of the rivets in it was missing.' A Windsor Star photo of the weapon led to a tip — and the arrest of 18-year-old Ronald Sears on Aug. 21, 1946. He had been just 17 when the killings began. 'The final piece of information came from his sister-in-law,' said Gelissen. 'She recognized the murder weapon.' WINDSOR SLASHER Ronald Sears was arrested for the Slasher attacks in August, 1946. (Source: Sears Family, via. Patrick Brode) Who was Sears? 'Ronald Sears was an unusual young man,' said Brode. 'He felt that he was justified in what he did. He was a Robin Hood. These people deserved what he was giving to them.' Brode said police reports show Sears confessed to the attacks, but that confession was deemed inadmissible. He was convicted only in the stabbing of Villeneuve, who had cooperated with police. Villeneuve was charged with gross indecency under Canada's anti-gay laws of the time. Despite being the victim, he was sentenced to ten months in jail — longer than Sears, who was soon transferred to a psychiatric hospital and later a sanatorium for tuberculosis. 'He spent less time in prison than Villeneuve, and yet he killed people,' said Gelissen. Sears died in 1956. A policing legacy with controversial roots The public panic triggered by the Slasher attacks led Windsor to implement nighttime park patrols. According to the Windsor Police Service, those patrols were the earliest form of its modern auxiliary force. But Brode said its roots are troubling. 'They weren't formed to catch the killer,' he said. 'They were formed to catch the gay men he was targeting.' Gelissen said those patrols were effectively a 'morality squad' meant to disrupt meetups between gay men in Windsor's parks by any means necessary. 'They took advantage of their position,' she said. Windsor's Auxiliary Unit still patrols the riverfront parks today, but has mostly evolved into a modern volunteer team that supports public safety through community events and outreach. The Slasher case fades ... but its impact lingers As quickly as the attacks began, they ended. The case faded from headlines. Brode said few in Windsor today know the story of the Slasher — but the legacy of moral panic and media sensationalism remains. 'It's hard to see how society — then or anytime — can be led into this kind of moral panic by media saying things that are demonstrably untrue,' said Brode. 'But it happened then. It could happen again tomorrow.' The Windsor Public Library's Local History Branch holds a wide collection of historical newspapers and materials on Windsor's past — including more information on the Slasher case. Brode's book The Slasher Killings is available on library shelves, too, as well as at local bookstores.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Police investigating reported sexual assault in Kitchener
The intersection of Otto Street and Queen Street was seen in Kitchener, Ont. on July 7, 2025. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) The Waterloo Regional Police are investigating a reported sexual assault in Kitchener. Officers were called to the Otto Street and Queen Street area on Saturday around 11:30 p.m. They were told a woman was approached by a man she didn't know and was sexually assaulted. The suspect then ran off. The suspect was described as a 5'9' Black man between 20 and 25-years-old. Police were told he had a 'strong accent,' wore a basketball jersey style shirt, cutoff jeans and red shoes and rode a white bicycle.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
3 suspects outstanding after man seriously injured in Ajax shooting
A Durham Regional Police officer's logo emblem is shown at a Bowmanville, Ont. shopping centre parking lot on Tuesday Feb. 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives Three suspects are at-large after a male was seriously injured in shooting in Ajax over the weekend. The incident happened on Sunday near Commercial Avenue and Hunt Street, which is west of Harwood Avenue South and north of Bayly Street West. Durham Regional Police Service said they were called to that area at about 10:20 p.m. for reports of an armed person. Police said officers at the scene found a male suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was rushed to a Toronto-area trauma centre with serious injuries. Investigators said they've since learned that the victim and suspects got into a verbal altercation prior to the shooting, adding that they believe this is to be an isolated incident. The first suspect is described as a male, approximately six feet tall, who was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a face mask, a hoodie, jeans, and black shoes. The second suspect is a male with a heavy build. He was last seen wearing a face mask and all black clothing, while the third is only described as a male, who was last seen wearing a face covering, a hoodie, black pants, and light coloured shoes. Police said the suspects arrived in a grey four-door vehicle, whose make and model is unknown. This investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information about this incident is asked to contact the West Division Criminal Investigations Branch at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 2534, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
