See these billboards around London? Homicide victim's family hopes someone has a tip

A new series of billboards is looking to bring answers and closure for the family of a woman killed more than 16 years ago in London at the hands of an unidentified killer.

Lisa Leckie (née Johnson) was 25-year-old when she was found dead in her third-floor apartment at 390 Southdale Rd. E on March 24, 2009. A post-mortem exam later determined she died from asphyxiation.

The unsolved homicide, one of nine murder investigations since 1956 yet to be cracked by London police, has continued to weigh heavily on her loved ones, including her two children, who were just eight-months-old and eight-years-old at the time.

"It's something that I still grapple with to this day," said the elder child, JC Leckie (née Sean Leckie), who is behind the new billboard effort, focused on five high-traffic areas across the city. "I think it fundamentally shaped who I am as a person, for better and for worse."

Three billboards are active near Exeter and Wellington roads, Wharncliffe and Wonderland roads, and Richmond Street and Fanshawe Park Road. All are donated by ad company Target Outdoor.

Two more are set to come online next week near Horton and Wellington streets, and on Wellington north of Dearness Drive.

The hope, JC says, is that they keep the case fresh in the minds of Londoners, and help bring in new tips and information that could finally lead to a long-awaited arrest. "I see it as, if I don't, who will?" they said.

"I feel like not only is there diminishing public interest, but there's also diminishing interest within the family as the family slowly dissolves," JC said, noting one of the biggest proponents in the case, Leckie's mother, Cheryl McCullough, passed away several years ago.

At the time of her death, Leckie's common law husband, Derek Stacey, lived at the apartment with Leckie and their eight-month-old son. He found her body in their living room upon returning home around 7 a.m. from an overnight shift.

The couple's eight-month-old son, JC's half-brother, was found unharmed in his crib.

Official investigative details have been few and far between for Leckie's family. Police have remained tight-lipped about the case, but have said they believe her death was not random, and that she was targeted by someone she knew.

JC believes Leckie opened the door to someone who meant her harm, saying there were no signs of a struggle. Police did not confirm this detail to CBC News.

In 2019, on the tenth anniversary of Leckie's murder, police said that the culprit left behind a note written using an old "impact-style model" typewriter with a fabric ribbon, commonly found in vintage and manual typewriters.

Police declined to make the note's content public, citing "investigative reasons." More than 300 interviews had been conducted as part of the investigation, police said at the time.

Investigators also released surveillance video taken near Leckie's apartment around 9:12 p.m. on March 23, 2009, less than 12 hours before she was found dead. In the video, an unidentified man can be seen walking away from the camera — a man police have sought to speak with.

"It's been 16 years, but that doesn't mean it's not still on our minds. I actually think of that case often, and review the case just to see if anything else tweaks my memory," said London Police Det. Sgt. Micah Bourdeau of the Major Crimes Section.

"Lisa was a young, vibrant mother with two young boys, and the details of the case, you know, make me feel sick to my stomach."

Bourdeau was in another section of the Criminal Investigation Division when the investigation began, and recalled helping with canvassing efforts.

"We did an extensive canvas of that area, that building, the surrounding buildings, the surrounding homes and businesses. Even with as extensive search as we did at that time, it's still a possibility that we missed somebody," he said.

"There's nothing to suggest, that we're aware of, that she knew anything was amiss, or that that was going to be her last night."

The typewritten note in particular is a significant detail given its unusual nature, Bourdeau says, and new information related to it could very well break the case.

Someone out there knows something, and they should do the right thing and come forward, said JC, who now lives in Hamilton.

"The longer we take, the less likely it is that we will recover that information," they said.

"My mother was just such a wildly, happy, joyous and wonderful person to be around, and I think I owe it to her to pursue this case."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crimes Section at 519-661-5671 or Crime Stoppers.