An Ontario mother pleads for answers 15 years after her son's murder

Fifteen years after her son was killed by an unknown shooter, a Port Perry, Ont., mother says she believes there are people out there who can help solve his murder, and she hopes they're ready to come forward.

On Feb. 7, 2010, Glenn Lowe Jr. — then 30 years old — was shot dead at the back door of his Toronto home. The shooter was never found. 

Now, on what would have been her son's 46th birthday, Dale Lowe is appealing to those she believes have more information about the incident. 

"Please have some compassion," she said  in an interview this week. "Even if you don't think that it's important, please come forward. Respond to the police requests. If you know any additional information and you've never been questioned by the police, come forward, give them a call."

Police say the home at 1562 Jane St., where Glen Lowe lived at the time of the killing, was being used as a growing operation for marijuana. Lowe was a plumber by trade and his mother told CBC Toronto he was helping friends install an irrigation system. He was shot just after 11 p.m. and a woman inside the house called 911 after finding him on the porch of the house. 

Acting Det. Sgt. Steve Smith with the Toronto Police Service's homicide and missing persons unit said investigators believe someone at the house, or who was connected to the growing operation, likely has more information.

"We know that there's people that know who the killer is," he told CBC Toronto. "We know that there's people involved in that operation that were buying and selling the marijuana, as well as people that were living in the house with him at the time. And we're pretty sure that some of these people know."

Toronto police are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information on the murder.

For Dawn Lowe, solving this case would mean everything for her family. 

Mother hopeful that new information will lead to solving case

"My daughter, it's affected her for the rest of her life," Lowe said. "My husband has never recovered. I feel his loss every day."

Lowe is hopeful that circumstances have changed for the people who might have more information, allowing them to come forward as police continue their investigation.

Aside from tips, Det. Sgt. Smith says advancements in science and technology often help investigators solve cold cases like this one.

"One of the biggest ones is investigative genetic genealogy," he said. "If we can find DNA of the offender in any of our cases, we're pretty confident that we can track the offender down." 

Unfortunately, that tactic probably won't be much help in Lowe's case, according to Lorraine Heath, a forensic DNA consultant.

"There doesn't appear to be any information suggesting that there was much contact, physical contact, between the perpetrator and the victim," she said in an interview. "DNA analysis unfortunately … requires some kind of contact or interaction between the victim and the perpetrator."

Investigator says there's always hope in any cold case

But Det. Sgt. Smith says there is still hope. 

"We've solved 12-, 30-, 40-year-old cases. So we're still working on all these cases, especially in this case, and we're hoping that at some point we can conclude it," he said.

Like Lowe's mother, he's asking anyone with more information about the shooter to come forward. 

"We understand that there's circumstances in everybody's life," Smith said. "This was 15 years ago. Mr. Lowe deserves justice. So if you know anything, please give us a call. Give Crime Stoppers a call anonymously. Whatever you need to do, just get us that information."