HUNTER: Cops bust Hamilton man in 2006 Patrick Santos cold case murder
· Toronto Sun
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At 10:30 a.m. on a warm summer Wednesday, Pierre O’Connor’s life as he knew it was obliterated.
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Cops had come calling and were delivering the bad news: He was under arrest, charged with first-degree murder in the horrific September 17, 2006 torture murder of 21-year-old Patrick Santos.
O’Connor — believed to be in his 40s — was picked up in Hamilton, where he now lives, 45 minutes and a lifetime removed from the terrifying events 20 years ago in Scarborough.
His arrest is the latest in a staggering stream of successes for the Toronto Police Service’s cold case unit.
‘He insisted he didn’t know him’
“He was surprised,” cold case chief Det. Sgt. Steve Smith told The Toronto Sun . “He insisted he didn’t know him [Santos], but we have his DNA from the scene.”
Toronto Police were expected to announce the arrest Thursday morning.
According to cops, on the day of the murder, officers responded to a 911 call on Bridlington St.
Santos had horrifically been discovered on his own back doorstep by his father, his head wrapped in plastic secured by duct tape. His hands and feet were also bound.
The 21-year-old was on the steps of the home suffering from medical trauma. Despite valiant efforts by emergency personnel, Patrick Santos was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives later said that the popular and kind young man was last heard alive around 4:30 a.m. the day of the murder when he spoke with his girlfriend via cellphone. Earlier in the evening, he had spent time at a downtown nightclub and was returning home at the time he was attacked.
Autopsy revealed Santos suffocated to death
An autopsy revealed he suffocated to death.
In a 2023 interview with the Sun , Smith predicted that the responsible parties would eventually be arrested and added that there were “many” who knew the reasons for the murder and who did it. Three years later, it went down.
“We know we can solve this. It’s one that really bothers me,” Smith said. “Then again, they all do.”
The DNA recovered from the Patrick Santos crime scene was one of the cold cases police submitted for testing. After that, it was only a matter of time.
Smith said detectives are still murky on the motive for the murder.
“The truth is, we don’t really know. It was some sort of stupid dispute, is about the best we can ascertain at this point in time,” he said.
‘Patrick’s mother is thrilled’
For Santos’ family, their long odyssey of pain now has some semblance of relief. It won’t bring their son back, but knowing a suspect is in custody for Patrick’s senseless death means some level of closure is on the horizon.
“The family is really happy and grateful; Patrick’s mother is thrilled,” Smith added.
Each murder carries its own pain. Some make headlines and may be part of a decades-long underworld melodrama. Others are not. Count Patrick Santos’ slaying among the latter.
“It was a tragic and senseless, low-rent affair,” the detective said. “It was all pretty low-brow. Mr. O’Connor was very surprised to see us.”
Over the past decade, the cold case unit has closed many of the city’s most vexing unsolved murders and identified a multitude of John and Jane Does. Smith said the satisfaction of taking villains off the street and bringing closure to grieving families is what drives the unit.
‘We’ve made a difference’
“It’s a pretty great feeling, knowing that after years, sometimes decades, we’ve made a difference. These people … they just can’t hide anymore. We will catch up to them,” Smith said. “Guaranteed.”
Smith vowed the unit would get Santos’ alleged killer. And on a sunny morning in July, they did just that.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
If you have any information regarding this case, please contact Homicide at 416-808-7400, or at [email protected] or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477); or online at 222tips.com .