"This is not a cold case. We have been actively investigating this case since the 30th of August, 2010. It's not a cold case." Det. Insp. Shawn Glassford makes it very clear he is determined to find the person who killed Sonia Varaschin nine years ago.
The 42-year-old Orangeville woman was reported missing on Aug. 30, 2010, when she failed to show up for work.
That same day, police located her blood-stained car in an alley behind Orangeville town hall. They went to her townhome on Spring Street to investigate and described finding a horrific crime scene.
"I believe Sonia was targeted. Whether she knew who the killer was or not, I don't know that. But I do know that she was targeted," Glassford says.
Just days after her disappearance, Sonia's body was discovered in a ditch along Beech Grove Sideroad in Caledon, some 13 kilometres from her home.
Investigators say she was wrapped in blood-soaked bed sheets and dragged from her home.
Police recovered DNA evidence believed to belong to the killer, but so far there has been no match. Even so, Glassford says it's only a matter of time before they find the person responsible. "[It's a] feeling I have. The investigators we have are very determined, very stubborn. I feel confident."
Police have never revealed how Sonia was killed, whether a weapon was used, or many details at all about the investigation. Glassford says it's to maintain the integrity of the case. "There is information that only we know and that the killer knows, and we need to keep that to ourselves."
Investigators continue to appeal to the public for any information. They say they receive clues weekly. "No tip is too small," Glassford says. "It's a piece of the puzzle."
A $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
"We're not going to rest. We're going to keep working on this case," says Glassford. "I hope that this time next year it's a different message that I'm delivering."
