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Sep 184 min read

Canadian Killers Series: The FNU LNU

An area near London, Ontario, was irrevocably changed over just 17 months with the tragic murders of three young boys. The patterns that emerged in these three cases suggest the presence of a predator who remains unidentified.



Despite extensive investigations, the cases you’re about to hear about are still unsolved, leaving lingering questions about what the killer… or killers… have been left free to do. Join us as we learn about the potential victims of the FNU LNU (First Name Unknown/Last name Unknown).


A 1992 article by the Toronto Star details multiple unsolved murders in Ontario and several potential suspects.

The potential victims:


  • Frankie Jensen, 9, of London

    • Frankie Jensen vanished while walking to school on Friday, Feb. 9, 1968. His body was found two months later face down in the Thames River near Thorndale, northeast of the city. He was partially clothed with a tissue stuffed into his mouth.

Courtesy: The London Free Press

  • Scott Leishman, 16, of Thorndale (Just outside of London)

    • Scott Leishman, who looked very young and had an uncanny resemblance to Frankie Jensen, vanished from Thorndale while walking to a Thorndale fishing hole on March 21, 1968. His body was found two months later near Port Burwell, along Lake Erie. The pathologist determined that he had been strangled into unconsciousness before he entered the water, causing him to drown. He was fully clothed, but it was obvious to investigators that he had been re-dressed, likely by the killer, because his pants were unzipped and his belt had been put on backward. 


Scott Leishman, 19 | Courtesy: The Toronto Star

  • Robert "Bruce" Stapylton, 11, of London

    • Robert "Bruce" Stapylton vanished while playing outside on June 7th, 1969. His parents last saw him playing on the lawn in front of their London home. Police initially thought he was missing on his own accord. His decomposed body was found four miles away three months later. His cause of death was listed as "undetermined."


Robert "Bruce" Stapylton, 11 | Courtesy: The Toronto Star

  • Simon Wilson, 9, of Etobicoke (Toronto)

    • Simon Wilson was last seen heading to his school, which was roughly 10 minutes away from the creek where Tracey Bruney's body would later be found. He hasn't been seen since.



Courtesy: The Etobicoke Guardian

  • Tracey Bruney, 5, of Toronto

    • Bruney was last seen in front of her school on her way to Kindergarten class on May 14, 1975. Her body was found 10 miles away a few hours later face down in a creek. A pathologist found she died from drowning. She had been physically, but not sexually assaulted. Detectives have DNA in the case.


Murder victim Tracey Bruney, 5 | Courtesy: The Toronto Star


  • Erik Larsfolk, 14, and John Mccormick, 15, of Caledon (Near Toronto)

    • Neighbors Erik Larsfolk and John Mccormick were last seen around 8 p.m. on Aug. 24, 1981, playing on a gravel pit on the Mccormick property in Caledon. A few hours later, around 11 p.m. when neither boy came home, their parents became worried. When the police were notified they initially believed that the boys were likely just runaways. They haven't been seen since.


Courtesy: The Orangeville Banner


The suspect:


  • The FNU LNU (First Name Unknown, Last Name Unknown)

    • The so-called FNU LNU, referred to in some coverage as The Neighbor, was a known pedophile who had a criminal history of exposing himself. He lived near several of the victims discussed in this case, drove a white sedan, which matched a description of a vehicle seen near several of the victims before they vanished, and had once allegedly exposed himself on a beach in front of children and started masturbating. He also worked as a traveling salesman, which would have given him the freedom and convenience to travel to the locations where he preyed on his victims and then discarded their bodies. His name was known to investigators, but he has never publicly been identified. The FNU LNU has reportedly passed away.



This is the seventh episode in our Canadian Killers series, which is now exploring a rash of unsolved homicides that occurred during the period when multiple serial killers were active. Perhaps, through your sleuthing, you can help to solve some of these crimes and bring resolution to the victims' families.


If you have any information on the unsolved cases covered in this episode, the tip line for The Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers is 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). 


 

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