Windsor, Ont., police say media pressure led to releasing name of man who killed Ljubica Topic in 1971

WARNING: This article contains details of sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​it or know someone affected by it. 

Windsor, Ont., police say a new chief and pressure from local media were factors in finally releasing the name of the man they say killed Ljubica Topic after she was abducted over 50 years ago.

Topic was six years old when she was playing outside her family’s home on Drouillard Road on May 14, 1971, and a stranger lured her with a promise of money. She was later found dead — abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered — near an alley a kilometre away from her home.

Police said in 2015 that they’d discovered new DNA evidence — two of Ljubica’s teeth and one adult tooth — close to where her body had been discovered. In December 2019, investigators said they’d found the man responsible, but didn’t say who it was.

On Wednesday, they finally provided a name — Frank Arthur Hall, who died in Edmonton in February 2019 at age 70.

Police said Hall was 22 when the little girl was killed, and had been living under two kilometres down the street in the 1800 block of Drouillard Road.

Const. Bianca Jackson told CBC News on Thursday that a Freedom of Information Act request from the Windsor Star was a factor in finally releasing the name. So was a change in police leadership — Jason Bellaire was named as new permanent chief in November. 

“It’s definitely fair to give credit to the Windsor Star,” Jackson said.

Also, “with our new leadership, we examined and ultimately came to a decision to make that change.”

CBC News filed a similar request in 2020 and again in December 2022. Both were denied and one was in the process of being appealed.

Windsor police denied the information, saying deceased individuals have privacy rights for 30 years after death, releasing the name would be an unjustified invasion of privacy, and because he’s deceased, he no longer poses a threat to public safety.

“This individual was never arrested, charged or convicted of this crime and is now deceased,” police said in January 2020. 

Jackson said police an “an internal discussion that led to a reversal to a decision that was made quite some time ago.”

Bellaire said in a Wednesday media release that “we are committed to operating with full transparency and serving the interests of the people of Windsor and Amherstburg.”

“We hope this decision meets the public’s need for knowledge and offers the opportunity for members of the community to provide further information that may assist with other investigations.” 

Michael Arntfield, professor of criminology at Western University in London, questioned why it took such lengths for this information to become public.

“Naturally, this is information that the public has a bona fide interest,” he said.

He said releasing the name could have value in other cases.

“Child sexual murderers, inevitably in most circumstances, are involved in serial crimes, not necessarily serial homicides,” he said. “By releasing this information, it recognizes that reality and that there may be other victims out there, other cases that may be able to be linked.”

The case has attracted national interest over the years. It was reopened six times since the 1970s, with hundreds of tips from across Canada and the U.S. 

There have been more than 500 persons of interest over the years. 

Valerie Potter of Owosso, Mich., lived in the neighbourhood at the time Ljubica was killed and remembers the search. She said she’s happy there is “peace and resolution” for the family.

“I thought this day was never going to come.”

She said she didn’t believe it was fair that police didn’t release the man’s name at the time they revealed the case was solved.

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.