Good morning. After a Toronto woman was found dead in a ravine, police delays prompted her friends to start their own investigation. More on that below, along with a (very) long ballot in Pierre Poilievre’s Alberta by-election, and new research on honeybee health. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Gazans describe scenes of chaos and violence as Israel allows airdrops of aid
- The EU’s trade deal with the U.S. isn’t a blueprint for Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney says
- A new report highlights the connection between sex trafficking and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls
A dossier detailing Jennifer Johnson’s disappearance and the discovery of her body, pictured on April 2, 2025.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Investigation
A suspicious death, police delays and unanswered questions
I’m Tavia Grant, an investigative reporter at The Globe and Mail.
I spent several months this year working on a story about the suspicious death of a woman found in a Toronto ravine, and the police investigation that followed.
Born in Winnipeg, Jennifer Johnson was of European and Métis descent. Growing up, she was especially close with her Métis grandmother – whose granduncle was Louis Riel.
Johnson moved to Toronto as a child. By the nineties, she was known as a superstar within the city’s hopping nightclub scene – a renowned promoter, bartender and graphic artist who worked at dance bars. During this time, she became a costume designer and wardrobe stylist for television, film and music videos, working with Snoop Dogg and other celebrities.
Later in life, though, her mental health deteriorated and she spiraled into alcohol addiction.
On Aug. 18, 2023, her body was found near a public walking trail in a ravine in central Toronto. She had been reported missing three weeks earlier. The Globe’s investigation looked into the arc of her life and what happened after she died.
As of May, Toronto police said their investigation is ongoing. No cause of death has been determined. But there are questions, especially among Johnson’s friends, about the police response and how swiftly they acted after her body was discovered.
Viia Beaumanis (L) and Eloisa Slimmon (R), long-time friends of Jennifer Johnson, reminisce over past photos of her on Feb. 7, 2025.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Worried that authorities didn’t treat her death seriously – dismissing Johnson as an addict on the streets – her friends decided to conduct a probe of their own. They interviewed witnesses and constructed a detailed timeline of what happened in the days leading up to and following her death.
Alerted to their concerns, I began an investigation of the police investigation. Over four months, I spoke with Johnson’s friends, family members, former colleagues, lawyers, and others in dozens of interviews. I listened to audio from conversations with people who knew Johnson, recorded and supplied by her friends, combed through court documents, and traversed the ravine to get a sense of what might have happened.
The geography of this case is striking: Johnson was found in a wooded area on the border of Forest Hill, one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada.
She lived just steps - but another world - away. Johnson stayed in a small apartment nearby, and spent time in a small park beside Nordheimer Ravine. She hung out in the company of others, many of them unhoused, also dealing with addiction and mental health issues. They formed a community of their own, going to local soup kitchens for lunches, and spending time in the park, where they would drink and talk about their lives.
The Globe’s investigation found that police waited – for more than a year – to take basic investigative steps, such as searching through her cellphone. One affidavit, filed in court in support of a search warrant to examine her phone, showed that investigators waited 14 months after Johnson was found to inspect her device. Phones are one of the most important pieces of evidence in a suspicious-death investigation, like this one.
Court records also show at least two men were accused of assaulting Johnson in the past. Yet the documents show police waited more than a year to compel a shelter to provide information about one of the men connected to her.
As of May, the investigation remained under the jurisdiction of the local division, and was not turned over to Toronto police’s homicide unit.
I asked, repeatedly, to speak with the officer investigating the case, Detective David Wilson. Toronto Police Service declined, saying the investigation was ongoing. It said the probe has been treated “with the same seriousness, diligence, and commitment as all cases involving unexplained deaths.”
Toronto police have faced criticism before over how they treat the deaths and disappearances of those in marginalized communities. They are in the midst of implementing recommendations to improve how they respond to missing-persons cases.
In a follow-up story, several people raised concerns about how Johnson’s case was handled, and stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in policing.
Toronto police, with an annual budget of more than $1-billion, have a civilian oversight body called the Toronto Police Service Board. The TPSB declined my request for interviews with the board chair and vice chair, “given the operational nature of this issue.”
Johnson’s friends and family are left with a sea of questions, while still mourning the loss of their loved one. The Globe will continue to follow this case.
The Shot
‘There’s no alternative for beekeepers to use.’
Brendan Daisley, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Guelph, and Liz Mallory, a Guelph graduate student, at the Summerlee Science Complex on campus on Monday.Nicole Osborne/The Globe and Mail
From parasites to pesticides, honeybees face a range of challenges. Now, a Canadian study has found evidence for another factor affecting the mortality of colonies: antibiotic regulation and resistance.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Elections Canada to issue write-in ballot in Poilievre’s Alberta by-election because of a candidate list of more than 200 people.
Abroad: U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer discuss Gaza food crisis and the war in Ukraine during meeting in Scotland.
Walk back: Ontario Premier Doug Ford walks back his vow to have his province issue its own work permits to asylum seekers.
Ship strikes: Swaths of the migratory path for North Atlantic right whales remain perilously unprotected from vessel strikes, which are a leading cause of death.