Police identity murder victim the ‘Danforth Lady’ more than 30 years after her body was discovered under building

After more than 30 years, police have identified the victim of a homicide investigation known as the “Danforth Lady,” in a cold case using Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG).

On May 18, 1995, Toronto police were called to the Danforth and Coxwell avenue area after demolition workers discovered the remains of an unknown woman buried beneath a building on the Robertson Motors car dealership that was being demolished.

Forensic investigation discovered that the woman was intentionally buried, after suffering at least six blunt force injuries to the head from a hammer-like weapon, classifying the investigation as a homicide.

In 2022, the case was selected as part of the first group of Project 31 IGG investigations. Due to the age and condition of the remains, a DNA profile could not be obtained until November 2024, after numerous lab submissions.

In a news release today (July 27), Toronto police said the woman has been identified as Mary McLeod Moffat (nee Davidson).

In the news release, police said Initial genealogy revealed Scottish ancestry from the Aberdeen area. Further testing and investigation was able to lead to a positive identification.

Mary was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1905, and emigrated to Canada with her family in 1913. Family interviews, historical records and evidence from the burial site suggest that she was murdered in approximately April of 1936.

Investigators identified Mary’s husband, Andrew Lloyd Moffat, also known as Drake Lloyd Cummings as the primary suspect in the homicide, said today’s news release.

Investigators discovered that Moffat abandoned Mary, entered into multiple additional marriages, and operated a tire business adjacent to the location where the remains were discovered decades later.

Moffat later took on the alias Drake Lloyd Cummings and lived in the United States and Vancouver before his death in 1985, said the news release.