Toronto police say they have cracked a 1998 cold case after arresting a suspect wanted for the death of a 24-year-old woman, who was sex trade worker at the time, using genetic genealogy.

Det. Sgt. Steve Smith made the announcement on Friday in the homicide case of Donna Oglive, who was found dead on March 8, 1998 at a rear parking lot of 130 Carlton St., near Jarvis Street, by a concerned resident.

“It looks like it may have been a sex trade transaction, and it ended in the death of Ms. Oglive,” Smith said, adding she died by strangulation and was pregnant at the time of her death. She also had another child.

Oglive was a resident of British Columbia and was in Toronto for five weeks before she was found dead, police said.

On Wednesday, Smith said officers arrested Ronald Gordon Ackerman, a 50-year-old man from Gander, N.L., at Toronto Pearson airport. Ackerman was on a flight from Edmonton and was intercepted in Toronto.

He has been charged with first-degree murder.

“It’s our belief he was a client that night,” Smith said, but noted he did not know if it was consistent or just the one time.

The area of 130 Carlton St. at the time was just a large parking lot and Smith said “there was a lot of sexual activity from sex trade workers at that parking lot.”

Smith said it was the use of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) with the help of Othram Inc. that led investigators to the offender’s family from a DNA sample. Investigators had developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected at the scene but no match was ever found, police said.

IGG is a forensic technique used by law enforcement when all other leads have been exhausted, as it can identify relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene. Investigators then use that information to zero in on a suspect.

“It’s really a game-changer for us,” Smith said. “This change in science has really allowed us to look at DNA in a different way, if we have offender DNA, to solve virtually any case that’s out there.”

Smith said Ackerman was working in the oil fields in northern Alberta for two weeks at a time and then flying back to the East Coast for the other two weeks.

“These historical cases, they’ve gone on for so long…. We have over 800 historical homicides alone. When you’re able to solve these cases, it’s a great feeling. You’re able to notify the family,” Smith said.

“When these people are still alive that they have to face justice.”

"The U.S.Census Bureau is conducting its Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, which provides an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on how detailed race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations will be coded when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the ACS and the 2030 Census. As in previous updates to the code list, all updates will be based on three criteria: (1) Federal scientific research and evidence; (2) stakeholder feedback, and (3) alignment with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget's updated 2024 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (see https://spd15revision.gov). The Census Bureau anticipates publishing a summary of the feedback received and the final code list in a future notice. An upcoming live question-and-answer webinar will provide an opportunity for the public to ask any procedural questions about how to respond to this Notice."

“As part of the Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, the U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) is seeking feedback on the proposed race/ethnicity code list that will be used when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2030 Census. The Census Bureau aims to enhance and improve the code list that was used in the 2020 Census and is currently used in the ACS to ensure that detailed race and/or ethnicity responses are accurately coded and tabulated in future data collections.”

The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

 Comments must be received on or before February 18, 2025.

 To submit your comments go to:

1. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter Docket Number USBC-2024-0022 in the search field. 

2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

 All comments responding to this document will be a matter of public record. Relevant comments will generally be available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov.

 All comments received are part of the public record. All Personally Identifiable Information ( e.g., name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

 For questions about this notice, please contact: Roberto Ramirez at Roberto.R.Ramirez@census.gov or (301) 763-6044.

To read more see:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

The American Historical Association (AHA) has sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump concerning the removal of the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, from her position. Federal law requires the president to communicate “reasons for any such removal,” so the AHA “awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.”

The AHA’s letter is reproduced below and available on our website.

_______________________________________________________

Dear President Trump:

The Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, has been removed from her position at your direction. Dr. Shogan has served in this nonpartisan role since her appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 10, 2023. Per US federal law, “The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist.”

Federal law (44 U.S.C. Chapter 21 § 2103) requires that “The President shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to each House of the Congress.” The Administration has not yet complied with this statute by communicating reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal. The American Historical Association awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.

Democracy rests on the rule of law. And the history of the United States rests on unfettered access to the archival record.

Sincerely, 

James R. Grossman

Executive Director

_______________________________________________________

Founded in 1884 and incorporated by Congress in 1889 for the promotion of historical studies, the American Historical Association provides leadership for the discipline and promotes the critical role of historical thinking in public life. The Association defends academic freedom, develops professional standards, supports innovative scholarship and teaching, and helps to sustain and enhance the work of historians. As the largest membership association of professional historians in the world (nearly 11,000 members), the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions and represents every historical era and geographical area.

“Access by the people to the records and output of the government is critical,” said Mark Graham, director of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and a participant in the EOT Web Archive project. “Much of the material published by the government has health, safety, security and education benefits for us all.”

The EOT Web Archive project is part of the Internet Archive’s daily routine of recording what’s happening on the web. For more than 25 years, the Internet Archive has worked to preserve material from web-based social media platforms, news sources, governments, and elsewhere across the web. Access to these preserved web pages is provided by the Wayback Machine. “It’s just part of what we do day in and day out,” Graham said. 

To support the EOT Web Archive project, the Internet Archive devotes staff and technical infrastructure to focus on preserving U.S. government sites. The web archives are based on seed lists of government websites and nominations from the general public. Coverage includes websites in the .gov and .mil web domains, as well as government websites hosted on .org, .edu, and other top level domains. 

The Internet Archive provides a variety of discovery and access interfaces to help the public search and understand the material, including APIs and a full text index of the collection. Researchers, journalists, students, and citizens from across the political spectrum rely on these archives to help understand changes on policy, regulations, staffing and other dimensions of the U.S. government. 

As an added layer of preservation, the 2024/2025 EOT Web Archive will be uploaded to the Filecoin network for long-term storage, where previous term archives are already stored. While separate from the EOT collaboration, this effort is part of the Internet Archive’s Democracy’s Library project. Filecoin Foundation (FF) and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) support Democracy’s Library to ensure public access to government research and publications worldwide.

According to Graham, the large volume of material in the 2024/2025 EOT crawl is because the team gets better with experience every term, and an increasing use of the web as a publishing platform means more material to archive. He also credits the EOT Web Archive’s success to the support and collaboration from its partners.

Web archiving is more than just preserving history—it’s about ensuring access to information for future generations.The End of Term Web Archive serves to safeguard versions of government websites that might otherwise be lost. By preserving this information and making it accessible, the EOT Web Archive has empowered researchers, journalists and citizens to trace the evolution of government policies and decisions.

More questions? Visit https://eotarchive.org/ to learn more about the End of Term Web Archive.

Thanks to a £100,000 funding award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2024, Manchester Libraries has been able to develop the new Manchester Image Archive and to hire a project manager to oversee it.

Currently hosting more than 90,000 images, the upgraded website features a much larger archive with the additional 12,000 images catalogued by a dedicated team of volunteers and through partnership work with The Museum Platform.

The improved system makes it easier than ever to search and discover images of local landmarks, people, and events. Some of the new and improved features include advanced search tools and high-quality image downloads and interactive features to allow users to share memories with libraries and to create their own library of images.

Additional features include:

Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure said:

"We have been developing this new collection since May last year and have partnered with a great team at The Museum Platform to help us build this new resource. We are thrilled to be able to offer a bigger and better website for all to use and thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and the support of the National Lottery funding we have been able to create a resource that will benefit generations to come."

Explore the Manchester Image Archive website here 

A man has been arrested and charged in the 1998 homicide of a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Toronto after police say they used investigative genetic genealogy to crack the cold case.

Det. Sgt. Steve Smith said Ronald Gordon Ackerman of Gander, N.L., had just gotten off a flight from Edmonton when he was intercepted and arrested at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. 

Ackerman, 50, has been charged with first-degree murder. 

"We knew he was working out in Alberta for two weeks at a time and then flying back to the East Coast for two weeks at a time," Smith said Friday.

"We were able to determine that he was going to be coming through Toronto."

Smith said Donna Oglive was a sex worker form British Columbia and had been in Toronto for only about five weeks when she was allegedly strangled to death by a client in a parking lot on Carlton Street. 

"In Canada, she has very little family, there's only really one person," he said.

Smith said police found a suspect's DNA at the crime scene, but they could not identify the person after running the evidence through a national data bank. 

He said police used investigative genetic geneology to track down the accused man's family last year and have used that technology to solve several cold cases over the last months. 

"Ontario's basically the leader in IGG testing, as you've seen by the number of arrests that we've put forward," he said. "Hopefully we continue this program over the next few years."

Smith said the accused man was living in the east end of Toronto in Scarborough and worked as a truck driver at the time of the homicide.

Police are investigating what he has been doing since then, Smith added.

"We need to find out what he's been doing over the past 25 years and make sure that there are no other victims, whether sexually motivated or homicides that he could be involved (in)," he said.

Smith said police have more than 800 historical homicides alone that are not solved.

"When you're able to solve these cases, it's a great feeling," he said. "It's nice to make sure, especially when these people are still alive, that they have to come and face justice no matter how long it's going to be."

Smith said investigative genetic genealogy will be a big help in finding those offenders.

"Anybody that committed sexual assaults or homicides over the past 40, 50 years, if they're still alive, I mean, they'd be expecting a knock on their door at any point," he said. 

The accused man is remanded in custody in Toronto after he appeared via video link at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Thursday.

President Trump has fired Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan, the government official responsible for preserving and providing access to government records. 

Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, announced Shogan's dismissal Friday night. Shogan has held the job since 2023. 

"At the direction of @realDonaldTrump the Archivist of the United States has been dismissed tonight," Gor wrote on X. "We thank Colleen Shogan for her service."

Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan speaks at her swearing-In ceremony at the National Archives on Sept. 11, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

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The archivist of the United States, who oversees the National Archives and Records Administration, is typically an apolitical role that receives little attention. But Mr. Trump has expressed ire toward the agency in the past, after it was a key player in the case about his mishandling of classified records. 

When he left office in early 2021, Mr. Trump allegedly took dozens of boxes of presidential papers, including nearly 340 documents bearing classified markings, to his home in Florida. Mr. Trump was eventually charged with 40 felonies, including for allegedly refusing to turn over some of the papers. But after Mr. Trump won the election in November, then-special counsel Jack Smith removed him from the case due to Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. 

NARA referred all requests for comment to the White House. 

Covering 1,000 Square Miles with 128,485 individuals and organisations

TheGenealogist in partnership with The National Archives have launched their expansive Lloyd George Domesday Record Collection for Dorset. The collection features historic maps from 1910 with pins representing records on its innovative MapExplorer^TM.

Step back in time and visit “Hardy Country” with TheGenealogist’s latest release, The Lloyd George Domesday for Dorset. These detailed records of house occupancy and ownership, cover the rural county in the run up to the first world war. They capture Dorset at a pivotal moment, when the great houses still dominated the landscape and Thomas Hardy himself walked the ancient streets of Dorchester.

Above: Thomas Hardy in the new records

Key Features:

• This release covers 1,000 square miles of Dorset with historic maps and details of 128,485 individuals and organisations
• Records have been linked to pins on detailed maps
• Interactive MapExplorer^TM technology lets you explore the area from a century ago
• The Lloyd George Domesday now includes: Greater London, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire
• The project now covers over 9,600 square miles and nearly 4 million individuals and organisations

The survey, originally commissioned by David Lloyd George to assess land value for taxation, provides a unique snapshot of life between 1910 and 1915.

Mark Bayley Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist, stated: "These records are a fantastic insight for family and social historians alike. They capture Dorset at a pivotal moment just before the dramatic social transformations brought by the First World War that would forever change rural England."

The Lloyd George Domesday survey is now available to Diamond subscribers on TheGenealogist.co.uk.

In these records is Thomas Hardy - read his story here:  https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/thomas-hardy-7982/

For a limited time, you can get our Diamond Subscription for just £103.95. You’ll also receive a 12 month subscription to Discover Your Ancestors’ Online Magazine plus Four eBooks; Discover Your Ancestors' Occupations by Laura Berry, Regional Research Guidebook by Andrew Chapman, Researching and Locating Your Ancestors by Celia Heritage and Discover Your Ancestors Periodical Compendium, giving you a combined saving of over £100.

Explore these new records and start your genealogical journey today with TheGenealogist by claiming this offer here:

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBLGD225

Offer expires 31st March 2025.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was tapped as the acting director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) just days ago, is taking on another new role in President Donald Trump's new administration. 

Rubio is now also serving as the acting director of the U.S. Archives, ABC News reported,citing a high-level official. Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Trump signaled last month his intention of replacing the now-former national archivist Colleen Shogan, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, during a brief phone interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. The National Archives notified the Justice Department in early 2022 over classified documents Trump allegedly took with him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office. That would later result in an FBI raid, and Trump being indicted by former special counsel Jack Smith. However, Biden nominated Shogan to run the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) later in 2022, and the Senate confirmed her the following year.

The source told ABC News that Rubio has been the acting archivist since shortly after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president last month. 

This week, Rubio is traveling on his first official State Department trip to Central America, during which he convinced the Panamanian president to end its Belt and Roads project deal with the Chinese government. Trump has said the United States could claim the Panama Canal through economic or military measures if necessary after raising concerns about Beijing allegedly controlling the strategic waterway that was constructed by the U.S. 

The Trump administration has suspended some foreign aid pending a review into how U.S. taxpayer dollars are being spent abroad, resulting in thousands of layoffs and ended programs. 

While addressing reporters in Guatemala City on Wednesday, Rubio said he issued waivers for certain programs that assist in gathering biometric information to better identify fugitives, as well as bolster technology and K-9 units to identify shipments of deadly fentanyl and precursor chemicals, showing "firsthand the kind of foreign aid America wants to be involved in." 

"This is an example of foreign aid that’s in our national interest. That’s why I’ve issued a waiver for these programs, that’s why these programs are coming back online, and they will be functioning, because it’s a way of showing to the American people this is the kind of foreign aid that’s aligned with our foreign policy, with our national interest," Rubio said.

America’s top diplomat said the United States wants some fugitives who are "strategic objectives, meaning they help us strengthen our partners, and they help us to cut the head off the snake of a transnational group that’s particularly dangerous." He said the State Department would be "working very closely" with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department in "prioritizing our extradition requests so that they align with our strategic objective with regards to who it is that we’re going after."

The State Department announced on Wednesday that "the government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal," saving the U.S. government "millions of dollars a year." 

However, the Panama Canal Authority denied having made any adjustments to the tolls or transit agreements of the canal despite the State Department's announcement, adding that they are "ready to establish a dialogue with the relevant officials of the United States regarding the transit of warships." Earlier this week, Rubio voiced frustration about U.S. Navy ships having to pay to transit through the canal despite the U.S. being under treaty agreement to defend the canal if it is attacked. 

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio is such a breath of fresh air & he’s proven to be incredibly effective in implementing President Trump’s PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH vision for the world," Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Republican ally of Rubio in Congress representing south Florida, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Panama has agreed to drop its ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Communist China & to waive the toll for U.S. Navy ships transiting the Canal Zone. Panama must continue to work with the United States to evict Communist China from their country & achieve a productive, long-term deal that prioritizes both of our countries’ shared interests."

Besides the canal, Rubio has focused his trip on immigration, praising the Panamanians for the decreased flow of migrants through the Darien Gap and overseeing a deportation flight of Colombian nationals back to Colombia. 

Rubio secured two agreements with first, El Salvador, and then Guatemala on Wednesday, for the countries to accept deportees from the U.S.

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is now shipping orders of its groundbreaking textbook, Forensic Genealogy: Theory & Practice. With 575 pages, it is the first comprehensive primer for professional genealogists who are interested in exploring the specialty areas and skills required to build a career in this emerging field. 

Lead authors Michael S. Ramage, JD, CG, and Catherine Becker Wiest Desmarais, CG, recruited five contributing authors who are leaders in the field to produce this must-have book. In Forensic Genealogy: Theory & Practice, these experts provide an in-depth overview of this evolving discipline and establish professional standards for practitioners.

Part One of the book discusses forensic genealogy's subspecialties and includes exercises, case studies, sample documents, and resources. Part Two focuses on the practical, yet essential, aspects of running a business as a forensic genealogist. A seventeen-page glossary serves as a useful tool for anyone new to the field.

Meet the authors and purchase Forensic Genealogy: Theory & Practice at the NGS booth at RootsTech in Salt Lake City 6-8 March 2025. Or order your copy through the NGS Store.

Copyright © 2025 National Genealogical Society (NGS), all rights reserved.

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