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.
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.
