Police identify girl whose remains were found in Toronto dumpster last year

More than a year after police found the remains of a young girl in a dumpster in Toronto, they have finally learned her name.

The girl has been identified as four-year-old Neveah Tucker. Her mother, who lives in Toronto, was notified earlier Thursday.

The breakthrough in the case was announced during a news conference on Thursday afternoon. Insp. Hank Idsinga from the homicide unit provided an update on the investigation.

"We have a lot of work to do. We will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate the circumstances leading up to Neveah's death and the subsequent disposal of her body," Idsinga said.

Police tape surrounds a Toronto house on Thursday May 5, 2022 where the wrapped body of a young girl was found in a construction-site dumpster bin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Frank Gunn

Neveah's remains were discovered in a construction dumpster outside of a vacant home near Castle Frank Road and Dale Avenue on the afternoon of May 2, 2022 – a few weeks before her fifth birthday.

Idsinga said Neveah was born on May 18, 2017. Her remains were wrapped in a crochet blanket inside a plastic bag, which was bundled in a coloured blanket.

Police believe the girl died sometime in 2021.

An autopsy conducted days later could not determine the cause of death. On Thursday, Idsinga said it's still unknown how Neveah died.

"It's been a year and it's been undetermined up until this point. Whether some witness information or some forensic examinations of scenes that we uncover will help us out in that, we're optimistic," he said.

"I don't know that we'll ever get there, though."

With no information about what led to the girl's death, the case has not been deemed a homicide. However, Idsinga said, "We'll see where the investigation takes us."

"It's definitely in our minds that this could still potentially become a homicide case," he said, adding that no arrests had been made.

The scene at Castle Frank Road and Dale Avenue area can be seen above. (John Musselman/CTV News Toronto)
TIP, GENETIC GENEALOGY LED TO DISCOVERY OF GIRL'S NAME

In an effort to identify the girl, police released a composite sketch. They also commenced genetic genealogy – which uses DNA to identify possible family members.

What ultimately led to her identification, Idsinga said, was a combination of a tip they received from the community and genetic genealogy.

"We're making very good progress with the genetic genealogy. And as I've said before, it's a very time-consuming process. It can take years, but I was always confident that it would get us answers," he said.

"The intersection of genetic genealogy and the investigative work that sprung from the tip was on a bit of a collision course. So they've lined up quite nicely with each other. So a lot of work was put into both avenues and came together today to where we are now."

Idsinga would not elaborate on the tip police received, which was one of dozens they got over the course of the investigation. He did say that the piece of information wasn't very specific, but it pointed them to a possible lead.

"It actually did identify somebody else as being the potential victim, but the windfall from that tip ended up taking us in the right direction," Idsinga said.

"And we're very grateful to the person who did call in and provide us with information. It gave us that little jigsaw puzzle piece, and we were able to build from there."

As for the next steps of the investigation, Idsinga said police will be speaking to family members. When asked what would happen to the remains, he noted that it would depend on what comes out of the interviews.

"We have to, as part of our investigation, interview family, different family members, and see if there is a claim to the remains, whether any social agencies will step up, and we'll determine what happens with those remains down the road," Idsinga said. "So hopefully, we get some answers over the next few weeks to see where that goes."