Pod Insights Canadian True Crime The Murder of Rhoderie Estrada About this episode A dedicated nurse. A devoted mother of three. A family home that should be the safest place in the world.
In 2018, Gerald Aquintey arrives home late to find his Toronto house in disarray. The respected Filipino chef and restaurant co-owner runs upstairs to discover his beloved wife, Rhoderie Estrada, has been brutally murdered. Rhoderie was loved by all who knew her. She'd built a life centred on family, community and caring for others.
As investigators race to find the person responsible, the painstaking work of forensic specialists becomes the key to solving a heartbreaking crime that might otherwise have remained a mystery.
Special thanks to Gerald Aquintey and family.
Thanks also to Detective Constable Adrian Piccolo with the Toronto Police’s Forensic Identification Services Unit, Constable Don Laurel, and the Ontario Forensic Investigators Association.
More information:
WATCH Crime Beat: Awaking To a Nightmare — The Rhoderie Estrada Murder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-p2wxO5S8k
VISIT TINUNO Restaurant in Toronto https://tinunothirtyone.com/
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This month we have donated to Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime https://crcvc.ca/.
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Transcript 11,766 words · 7 speakers
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1:04 Speaker 02 Welcome to Canadian True Crime, a completely independent project funded mainly through advertising. To listen ad-free and early, subscribe to our premium feed on Amazon Music included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, and Patreon. This podcast often has disturbing content and coarse language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening.
1:25 Speaker 03 Hi there. I hope you're well. Today is the last episode before the summer slowdown, and I'm bringing you one of the most heartbreaking and senseless cases we've ever covered. This is a crime that devastated a lovely family and terrified their community, and it might never have been solved at all if it wasn't for the work of some quick-thinking forensic investigators. We often hear about the detectives who lead the investigation, the crown prosecutors who present the evidence, and the defense lawyers who challenge it in court. But there's painstaking work happening behind the scenes that can often be overlooked.
2:06 Speaker 03 The crime scene investigators who photograph, document, and collect fragile evidence before it can be lost or contaminated. The forensic analysts who compare fingerprints in minute detail. The scientists who analyze tiny traces of physical and biological material. The pathologists who speak for those who can no longer speak for themselves. In today's case, the forensic work didn't just support the investigation, it was central to everything that followed.
2:40 Speaker 03 An additional content warning before we begin. This episode includes graphic details that may be difficult to hear. Please take care while listening. And if you know anyone connected to this case, please respect their privacy.
3:08 Speaker 03 It's after 9pm on Friday, May 25th of 2018, and Gerald Aquinti is almost finished work. He's the co-owner and chef of Tenuno, a popular Filipino restaurant in Toronto's St. Jamestown neighbourhood, near Sherborne Station. Typically, Gerald closes the restaurant and goes straight home to his family. But tonight, he's headed to the grand opening of his cousin's restaurant. He calls his wife of 14 years to check in before he leaves. Her name is Rodery Estrada. Her loved ones call her Derry.
3:51 Speaker 03 She's at home in East York with their three daughters, just a couple of kilometres away from the restaurant. When Gerald calls, she's folding laundry in the living room, watching her Korean soap opera. Their daughters are getting ready for bed. He reminds his wife that he's going to be out late. He likely won't get home until after midnight, and he'll call her when he arrives. It's part of their little safety routine for nights like this. The front door has two internal locks that can only be opened from the inside. Rodery will make sure they're both locked when she goes to bed, and she'll leave her cellphone on the bedside table.
4:35 Speaker 03 When Gerald gets home, he'll call and wake her up to come down and let him in the house. It's just a little extra protection for peace of mind at night, when Rodery and the girls are home asleep by themselves.
4:51 Speaker 03 The couple says goodnight to each other and Gerald heads over to his cousin's restaurant. He's technically not just a guest at the grand opening, he's there to help. Gerald Aquintey is well respected in the local Filipino business community and he's bringing knowledge from building his own restaurant to help family members have a successful opening at theirs. After all, he had that same help when he opened to Nuno from his wife's family. Radri Estrada's family moved to Toronto from the Philippines in the early 1980s when she and her siblings were young.
5:31 Speaker 03 They opened a small variety store and bakery in the district known as Little Manila, around Bathurst and Wilson, which put them on the map as a pioneering Filipino immigrant family. The Filipino community is close-knit. A belief at the heart of their culture is the idea that your responsibility extends beyond yourself and that caring for others is an integral part of who you are. The Tagalog word for it is kapwa, shared identity. Not individualism, but connection to others. Radri Estrada embodied kapwa in every aspect of her life.
6:13 Speaker 03 She was known as a natural caregiver, a nurturer, deeply compassionate. She became a registered nurse and began working at St. Joseph's Health Centre in the dialysis unit. Radri became a favorite among her patients and colleagues alike, known for her positivity and her calm, welcoming approach, even in high-stress situations. She would end up being promoted to leader of the dialysis unit.
6:46 Speaker 03 She met Geraldo Quinty when she was in college. He had also immigrated from the Philippines and he was drawn to her strength and her sense of direction, the way she knew exactly what she wanted from life. They built that life together.
7:04 Speaker 03 Their wedding was a joyful celebration surrounded by family and friends. And in the years that followed, they had three daughters and settled into a neat two-story home in East York. It quickly became a gathering place. Rodri and Gerald loved hosting, holiday family dinners or backyard barbecues to welcome other immigrant families to a new country. Kapwa in action. Gerald had always dreamed of opening a restaurant of his own to help share Filipino culture with Toronto. In 2015, that dream became a reality when he and a business partner transformed an
7:46 Speaker 03 old laundromat not far from their home into a small Filipino grocery and takeout spot. He had Rodri's full support and the help and knowledge of her family. They named the restaurant Tenuno, a Tagalog word meaning "to cook by extreme heat under a grill or over a hot fire." It quickly grew into something special, known for its warm, intimate atmosphere and authentic food. Tenuno became especially popular for kamayan meals, Filipino feasts of grilled seafood, meats, vegetables, and garlic rice, eaten with your hands and shared among friends and family.
8:30 Speaker 03 Running a restaurant meant that Gerald was home in the mornings to help get their girls ready for school, but of course he worked late into the evenings. So Rodri worked the early shift at hospital to make sure she's finished in time to pick the kids up from school. She's a deeply devoted mother, taking her daughters to swimming lessons, piano practice, and making sure they're supported in every way. That spring of 2018 is a busy time for the family. In just a few days, Gerald and Ruttery will be celebrating the confirmation of their middle daughter, who's 12 years old.
9:11 Speaker 03 The following month will be their eldest daughter's graduation, she's 14. They're also having their basement renovated. It's a dug-up, dusty mess of construction down there, but it will be converted into an entertainment area.
9:31 Speaker 03 When Gerald arrives home, it's about 2am on Saturday, May 26th of 2018. He expects to see a dark house, but all the lights are on. That's odd. Maybe Ruttery is up for some reason. He tries the front door, but it's double locked. Gerald calls his wife's cellphone to let her know he's waiting outside. He can't get into the home himself. Ruttery has to come down, unlock the deadbolt, and the extra safety latch to let him in. The phone rings out. She doesn't pick up. He tries calling a second time. Again, no answer.
10:14 Speaker 03 Ruttery is typically a very light sleeper. The phone should have woken her up.
10:21 Speaker 03 What Gerald doesn't know is that her phone is not even in the house.
10:27 Speaker 03 He tries the front doorbell. Nothing. Something is wrong. He's suddenly hit with a feeling of panic. He runs around to the side door. It should be locked, but it isn't. He enters the house and turns to the stairs that lead up to the main level. The internal door leading into the kitchen has been kicked in and broken off its hinges completely. Gerald freaks out. He immediately runs upstairs to the second level to check on his family. Their two eldest daughters are unharmed. So is their youngest daughter. But what about Ruttery? He runs into the primary bedroom.
11:11 Speaker 03 The scene hits him with a wave of shock. His wife is lying on her back on the bed. Her head is propped up against a pillow. There's a large red stain behind it. Rodri is not moving. Her face is swollen and unrecognisable. Gerald immediately calls 911.
11:36 Speaker 03 Their eldest daughter had woken up to the bang of her father frantically opening their doors, and the 14-year-old was listening as he made his panicked call to 911. My wife is dead, her teeth are falling out, she's been raped. Gerald hears a sob from his daughter's bedroom. He cries out to them not to come in, to stay in their rooms. His eldest daughter is too scared to move anyway. The 911 operator instructs him to begin CPR on his wife until the first responders arrive. Rodri's mouth is full of broken teeth.
12:16 Speaker 03 He clears them out and tries to pinch her nose to get a seal, but he can't, it's broken. Her jaw is clearly broken too, it's a nightmare. Suddenly, their eldest daughter hears the first responders arrive, and she yells at the top of her lungs to come upstairs. The paramedics see that Rodri has a lot of trauma to her head. There's a penetrating injury with exposed brain matter. One of the paramedics gets a doctor on the phone and explains Rodri's injuries. They sound so severe that the doctor asks if she's been in a car crash. "No", says the paramedic, "I'm in her bedroom."
13:02 Speaker 03 Rodri Estrada is pronounced dead at the scene, aged 41. She's been viciously murdered.
13:12 Speaker 03 A homicide investigation is launched. The investigators are Detective Sergeant Mike Carboni and Detective Stephen Matthews with Toronto Police Homicide. They go upstairs to the second level of the home, and as they enter the primary bedroom, they see a large white comforter covering a window with several large bloodstains on it.
13:36 Speaker 03 Then, they see the bed. Ruttery is naked below the waist with her legs spread out. Her underwear is still around one leg, pulled below the knee. One of the detectives would later tell reporter Catherine McDonald for Global News that the scene immediately struck him as indicative of a possible sexual component. One of Ruttery's arms hangs over the edge of the bed from underneath a blanket covering her torso. The pillow behind Ruttery's head is saturated with blood. There's a significant amount of blood spatter across the back of the headboard,
14:17 Speaker 03 the side tables, the cabinet beside the bed, on Ruttery's purse next to the bed, and on the walls. The bedroom is in a state of disarray with clothes and items strewn around. But that's not how it usually looks. Investigators learned that Ruttery was known to be a neat freak. The room had been ransacked. At the foot of the bed, they find a seventeen inch long metal bar or chisel type instrument. It's thick, weighing about five pounds, and it's rusty. It's got indications of blood on it. Investigators would ask the construction workers renovating the basement
15:02 Speaker 03 if the chisel might have belonged to them, and they said absolutely not. It appeared it had been brought into the house not just as a break and enter tool, but a weapon.
15:18 Speaker 03 During this time, Geraldine Quinty is told that because of the nature of his call to 911, Children's Aid Society had to be informed, and he'll have to remain apart from his three daughters until police clear him of any involvement.
15:36 Speaker 03 There's a reason for this. Statistics Canada reports that although most homicide victims are male, when it comes to solved cases involving female victims, about two-thirds are killed by an intimate partner or family member. Gerald has a solid alibi, and he would provide DNA and other samples that would eliminate him forensically as well.
16:03 Speaker 03 Investigators also learned that the main level of the home has been messed up, just like the primary bedroom. While the basement renovation was happening, the family were storing some boxes and other items on the main floor, but everything was always neat and tidy. Not like this. There's a laptop missing from the main level. Ruttery's wallet and nurse ID are also missing. And so is her cellphone, along with another one belonging to their eldest daughter. That phone had been beside the 14-year-old's bed. The offender had gone into her room and taken it when she was asleep.
16:47 Speaker 03 The eldest daughter would recall sitting in a break room at the police station with her two younger sisters after they were interviewed. They're desperate to see their father to find out what has happened to their mother. The separation is agonizing.
17:05 Speaker 03 Finally, they're reunited. Their eldest daughter asks her father, "Where's mommy?" She would recall seeing brief hesitation and then pain cross his face. "Mommy's gone."
17:27 Speaker 03 Forensic identification services arrived to process the scene. Detective Constables Simon Hubbard, John Smith, and John Smithson with the Toronto Police. They survey the house's exterior, looking down the narrow laneway on one side of the home. They see some discarded window screens. One of them clearly comes from the basement window. It's completely open. We'll get to the other screen in a second. A close inspection of the ground around the house shows up some scattered loose change, and what looks to be bloodstains.
18:07 Speaker 03 The officers enter the same side door that Gerald used to enter the home. It's an entry to a split level, and there's a half set of stairs leading down to the basement, which they can see has been dug up with broken gravel and dust everywhere. The other set of stairs leads up to the main floor, where the internal door has been taken off its hinges. They see a series of dusty footprints on the hardwood, leading from the basement up the stairs to the main floor kitchen and dining area, and then up the stairs to the second floor where the bedrooms are. There's dozens of them.
18:50 Speaker 03 The forensic identification officers carefully inspect the doorways and windows of the home. Of particular interest is a kitchen window, located along the side of the home towards the rear. The bottom sliding part of that window is open, and the screen has been removed and discarded on the laneway. This is that second screen. From inside the kitchen, they find a partial thumbprint on the upper corner of the sliding window part. It's in an unusual position, pointing on a slight angle in an upward position. From outside in the laneway, that window is actually above head height.
19:32 Speaker 03 The evidence suggests that the intruder removed the screen from the outside, slid open the lower part of the window, gripped the inside of the frame and lifted themselves up, perhaps to peer inside the house, before entering via the lower basement window. Gerald says that the basement window itself had been left partially open for some ventilation during all the dusty construction. During this time, the internal door leading into the kitchen had been locked. That's the one that was broken off its hinges.
20:10 Speaker 03 That partial thumbprint is rushed to the Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems Section, or AFIS, for rapid comparison to fingerprints already in the database. By the end of the day, investigators had developed a theory that at some point between 10pm when Ruttery likely went to bed, and around 2 in the morning when Gerald arrived home, an unknown person had come to the house, looked inside the kitchen window, and then entered from the basement window. They broke the locked internal door leading into the kitchen off its hinges, and left dusty footprints up the next set of stairs to the bedrooms where Ruttery Estrada was
20:55 Speaker 03 attacked and murdered. But who would do this, and why? Ruttery didn't have any enemies, everyone seemed to love her. At that time, police had no suspects, there was more work to be done. As the rest of the evidence from the scene is gathered and sent for further examination and processing, investigators start looking beyond the home. They're hoping to locate surveillance footage that might have captured any movement in the neighbourhood during the timeframe of the homicide. They get very lucky.
21:35 Speaker 03 A grocery store just around the corner from the home has captured footage of two males passing the store at about 1.46am, that's about 15 minutes before Gerald returned home. One of the males is walking, the other is riding a bike next to him, and they're headed in the direction away from the home. There's not a heap of activity in the area at that time of night, so the footage stands out. Ruttery's family doesn't recognise either of the two men, but it fits the timeframe, they just have to wait for more information.
22:17 Speaker 03 The autopsy is conducted that day. Rodri suffered a minimum of eight blows to her head, breaking every single bone in her face. Her right eye had been ruptured, and there's multiple other lacerations and contusions. The injuries she sustained suggest the use of an elongated heavy object, like the rusty metal bar or chisel found at the end of the bed. The coroner forms the opinion that Rodri's death would not have been immediate. Each of the blows occurred while she still had a heartbeat, and she aspirated or inhaled blood, which means she was breathing.
23:00 Speaker 03 There's a number of injuries to her right hand, an 11-centimetre contusion or bruise, a number of abrasions, scrapes and scratches, and one small laceration or cut. The coroner notes they could be considered defensive in nature. Rodri Estrada likely fought for her life, but she didn't have a chance. The cause of her death is multiple and massive traumas to her head. Swabs are taken from various places, including Rodri's fingernails, mouth and intimate areas, and rushed to the centre of forensic sciences for a DNA analysis.
23:42 Speaker 03 Preliminary results are expected back in a few days.
23:48 Speaker 03 But investigators have just received some other news that will keep them busy until then. AFIS had produced a hit on that thumbprint, someone already in the database.
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25:28 Speaker 03 The thumb belongs to a man named Yostin Murillo. The fact that the thumbprint hit on APHIS has come back so quickly gives investigators a big advantage. Yostin Murillo is of no fixed address, and he's been staying in a homeless shelter located literally just around the corner from the home where Ruttery's body was discovered.
25:53 Speaker 03 Yostin Murillo is 22 years old, but he already has a long criminal record and a history of instability that begins in childhood. Born in Costa Rica, Yostin Murillo spends much of his early years in the primary care of his grandmother after his mother moved to Canada to work. She sends for his older sister and younger half-sister to join her, but not Yostin. Shortly after they arrive, his older sister dies by suicide, leaving the family reeling.
26:29 Speaker 03 Yostin Murillo's mother sends for him next. By this point, he's 11, and as a judge would later describe it, Yostin experiences a traumatic childhood after he arrives in Canada. His mother abuses alcohol and subjects him to physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, at times leaving him injured. He responds by lashing out at kids at school and getting into fights, which escalates the conflict at home. At 13, he contacts Child Protection Services himself and is removed from his mother's care. From that point on, Yostin Murillo moves through foster care, group homes, and periods of homelessness.
27:14 Speaker 03 He develops substance use issues and experiences significant mental health concerns. His first convictions are as a young offender in relation to breaking and entering a dwelling house and possession, among other offences, according to a court document. During this time, he also unlawfully escapes incarceration. After that, there's repeated convictions for break and enters, property offences, theft and breaching conditions. His criminal activity catches the attention of immigration authorities because he's a permanent resident, not a citizen. In 2015, when Murillo is about 20,
27:59 Speaker 03 a judge issues a deportation order, back to Costa Rica. He launches an appeal, which allows him to stay in Canada until the matter can be dealt with.
28:12 Speaker 03 Yostin Murillo knows his immigration status is at risk, yet he continues to offend. His relationships are unstable, and police are repeatedly called to incidents involving conflict, threats, or violence. He's regularly engaging in hazardous use of alcohol and drugs, and he's admitted to hospital after attempting suicide.
28:37 Speaker 03 In November of 2017, he's charged with robbery and convicted of uttering threats. Around this time, Yostin Murillo's girlfriend gives birth to his child and they break up shortly afterwards. Child Protective Services placed the child with the maternal grandparents.
28:59 Speaker 03 By this point, it has been more than two years since his deportation order, and he continues to offend while he waits on the appeal. March of 2018 is marked by a series of overlapping and escalating incidents. This is just two months before he breaks into Rodery Estrada's home. During that month, Murillo is hospitalized after ingesting toxic amounts of medication and alcohol in what he describes as another suicide attempt. He allegedly assaults multiple people in separate incidents in downtown Toronto, including striking a security guard with a wrench
29:43 Speaker 03 and later attacking a woman with a crowbar, causing serious injuries. He's arrested later that day and charged with 10 offences, including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Just days after his arrest, he's released on his own recognizance, a form of bail which means he had to promise to comply with the condition he not possess any weapons. And if he breached it, he would face a fine, which was set at $500. Given his history of not complying with anything, this decision to release him is a baffling one.
30:24 Speaker 03 A week later, Yostin Murillo is convicted of previous charges related to resisting arrest and breaching bail conditions. He's sentenced to 30 days in prison, followed by 12 months probation.
30:39 Speaker 03 In total, Yostin Murillo has been convicted of at least a dozen criminal offences in Canada at this point, but it's hard to keep track. About half are related to breaking and entering, theft and lashing out violently. The other half are the result of breaching orders, peace bonds or release conditions. And just a month after his 30-day sentence ends, his thumbprint is found on a window frame of the home where Rhoderie Estrada was viciously murdered. But he's also just been rearrested in relation to his other outstanding charges.
31:21 Speaker 03 Investigators go to the Toronto South Detention Centre to speak to the 22-year-old. He doesn't give them anything and makes no admissions in relation to the homicide of Rhoderie Estrada. Because everything has unfolded so rapidly, investigators are able to locate several important items still in his possession. Among a series of items that appear to be stolen, he has two cellphones and a laptop that match the description of the missing items from the home. The investigators call the cellphone numbers of Rhoderie Estrada and their eldest daughter.
32:02 Speaker 03 Both phones ring, and Rhoderie's phone appears to have a bloodstain on it. Investigators also recover a garment bag with items including a pair of black and grey shoes and distinctive black track pants with white stripes on the outside of the leg. These are consistent with the pants worn by the male walking past the grocery store in the hours after the homicide. And there's some stains on those pants. Yostin Murillo is charged with first-degree murder as investigators focus on identifying the other male on the bike next to him.
32:43 Speaker 03 Investigators obtained surveillance footage from the lobby of the homeless shelter where Yostin Murillo has been staying. This shelter also happens to be right next to the grocery store that captured him in the hours after the homicide, walking past with the other male on a bike. This new footage is from earlier that evening, in the hours before the homicide, and it shows Yostin Murillo entering the homeless shelter with the same male, and they're also wearing the same clothes. There's more, footage from a local fast food outlet. It captures Yostin Murillo still wearing those track pants, and he can be seen meeting
33:28 Speaker 03 a young woman who was later identified as his girlfriend, and giving her something. This is less than 24 hours after Ruttery Estrada was murdered.
33:42 Speaker 03 Then, the preliminary DNA analysis comes back from the Centre of Forensic Sciences, based on the swabs taken during the autopsy. The results are first compared to Ruttery herself, and to her husband Gerald, for elimination. Blood is found under Ruttery's fingernails, but the DNA belongs only to her. One finding stands out. A DNA profile has been developed from a swab taken from Ruttery's external genitalia. It shows an unknown person, who was neither Ruttery nor Gerald. There is no confirmed evidence of semen or sperm cells, and the profile is not clean
34:27 Speaker 03 enough to upload to the National DNA Data Bank for comparison. But it is strong enough to compare to suspects, that is, if they obtain their DNA. Investigators need to locate and speak with Yostin Murillo's girlfriend, to see if she will give them any information that could help the investigation.
34:51 Speaker 03 At this point, police hold a press conference to launch a public appeal, announcing that Rhoderie Estrada is the 33rd person killed in Toronto that year. That on Friday night, between the hours of about 10pm and 2am, an unknown person entered her family home via a side window and subsequently caused her death. Investigators call for any witnesses to come forward if they have information or reports of suspicious sightings in the area. The detail that the police have already arrested and charged one suspect is held back for strategic reasons.
35:34 Speaker 03 Unfortunately, the cumulative effect of this news release results in terror in both their local neighbourhood and surrounding areas and the local Filipino-Canadian community. Everyone was reeling in shock. Rhoderie was known to be a calm, sweet person who everyone loved, and her husband Gerald was a highly respected local businessman. It just seemed unfathomable. The idea of someone breaking in through a side window while a mother and her three children slept inside, then killing that mother, was horrifying enough. The thought of that person still being at large was nothing short of terrifying.
36:21 Speaker 03 Gerald posted to social media: “Thank you all for your prayers and support. The children and I are okay. Please continue to pray for my wife’s family and my children. We will update you soon for my wife’s service.”
36:40 Speaker 03 Rhoderie Estrada was laid to rest on June 2, 2018. Her online obituary page filled with messages from people who loved her, worked with her, lived near her, or had simply been shaken by what happened. Those who knew her recalled her warm, kind and deeply caring personality. Ruttery had a smile that people did not forget. Her coworkers spoke about the compassion and calm she brought to her work as a nurse. Others wrote about her devotion to Gerald and their three daughters, and how impossible it felt to make sense of such a sudden, violent loss.
37:24 Speaker 03 What came through most was that Ruttery had touched a lot of lives, and the people who knew her were devastated she was gone.
37:35 Speaker 03 The next day was the confirmation ceremony for her and Gerald's second eldest daughter. The family had been planning it for months, never once imagining that their beloved Ruttery would not be there to celebrate with them. Somehow Gerald and the girls found the strength to attend, and tried their best to smile for the photos.
38:05 Speaker 03 That evening Detective Sergeant Mike Carboni of the Toronto Police announced publicly that they'd made an arrest and named Yostin Murillo. There was an appeal to the public for anyone who has had contact with Murillo, either before or after the homicide, to contact the police. Investigators kept a lot of details hidden at this stage as holdback evidence that only the killer or killers would know, including what they believed happened and how Ruttery Estrada was murdered. All that could be released publicly at that time was that they had an idea of the possible motive and a word of reassurance to the public
38:49 Speaker 03 that there was no need to be concerned about their safety.
38:56 Speaker 03 Behind the scenes, investigators were of course still looking for a second suspect, the man seen with Yostin Murillo in that surveillance footage.
39:18 Speaker 03 The police successfully tracked down Yostin Murillo’s girlfriend. They learned that at that meeting at the fast food restaurant, he gave her a stolen purse that appears to be unrelated to the homicide. She also gives them a name, “the person he always does break and enters with”, she says. His name is David Beek.
39:44 Speaker 03 Investigators then locate David Beek, who appears to be the person on the bike seen with Yostin Murillo on surveillance footage both before and after the homicide. He’s 23 years old. Unlike Yostin Murillo, David Beek has no criminal record, but according to a news article from three years earlier, he was reported as a missing person with concern about his wellbeing. Evidently, he was located. David Beek tells investigators he was born in South Korea but moved to Canada with his family when he was four years old. He has two younger siblings, and his family lives in Toronto,
40:28 Speaker 03 but he’s been living in the shelter system after being kicked out of home by his father. When asked why, he mentions drugs and describes an incident where his father accused him of holding a knife and poking or assaulting him with it. He says he spent two days in jail for that. It appears he was released without charges.
40:53 Speaker 03 David Beek remained unhoused after that. He stayed at a few different places before ending up at the same shelter where he met Yostin Murillo, just around the corner from the home where Rhoderie Estrada was murdered. He says they’ve known each other for about five months by this point, and they’re friends. They like to party together. But David Beek denies any knowledge or involvement in the homicide.
41:22 Speaker 03 He doesn't know he's already been captured on surveillance with Murillo, both before and after. Investigators operate on a hunch that David Beek might just be a match to that unknown DNA profile found on a swab from Ruttery's external genitalia. They decide to get his DNA through discard samples, meaning items he had used and thrown away. Those items could then be tested for his DNA and compared against the DNA found on the swabs taken during Ruttery's autopsy. So the police scoop up David Beek's used soda can and cigarette butt and send them off to the Centre for Forensic Sciences.
42:10 Speaker 03 The results are back in a few days. The preliminary report concludes that the source of the male DNA found on the cigarette butt and soda can cannot be excluded as the source of the unknown DNA profile taken from Ruttery's external genitalia swab. Forensics experts know what this means, but for us laypeople, the careful scientific language used isn't very satisfying. That's because DNA evidence is based on statistical probability, not absolute certainty. So they cannot say the words conclusive match. They can only comment on whether the person of interest
42:53 Speaker 03 can or cannot be excluded as the source. In layman's terms, this was about as close to a scientific match as they can get. The DNA found on David Beek's soda can and cigarette was consistent with the DNA found on Ruttery's external genitalia. It was found to be a million times more likely that this DNA belonged to David Beek than someone unrelated to him.
43:25 Speaker 03 These results also raise the possibility of David Beek's involvement in sexual contact or a sexual assault. He's arrested and charged with first degree murder that same day.
43:40 Speaker 03 By this point, it is June the 8th, 10 days since the homicide. Armed with these results, investigators try once again to get more details from David Beek. They begin by asking him more about his life. He says he and his father never got along. He's been depressed for a while and drinks a lot. That's been an issue of contention between him and his father. At first, he says he doesn't wish to comment about the homicide, but when he's advised there is evidence that places him and Yostin Murillo in that house, he starts to open up.
44:21 Speaker 03 David Beek says that every time he hangs out with Murillo, something happens, so he tried to stay away from him for a few days. But that Friday evening, Murillo found him and he had alcohol. Beek says he hung out with Murillo and his girlfriend, drinking for a few hours. They stole two more bottles of wine from a wine store, then the girlfriend left. Beek says Murillo told him, "Let's do a flex", which means theft of money, devices, tools, things they can grab quickly and carry.
45:00 Speaker 03 He says they break into a random garage in the neighbourhood and take two crowbars. He follows Murillo down the street, and as they're walking, Beek says he tossed his crowbar somewhere near the house because he doesn't want it. He tells the investigators his memory is blurry, but quote, "I did not murder this woman, okay?"
45:25 Speaker 03 He says Murillo entered the home through the basement window, and then unlocked and opened the side door to let him in. He says he followed Murillo up the stairs and watched him bust through the internal door to the kitchen. Beak claims he doesn't want to be there, but Murillo tells him they're already in the house, it's too late. They're going to take money and whatever else they can find. So they go upstairs and Beak says he sees the sleeping girls, and at that point, he exits the house without taking anything. He tells the police he just wanted to go home. The investigators inform him they've actually found his DNA on the woman's body,
46:10 Speaker 03 Ruttery's body. David Beak insists he didn't kill her, but says he doesn't want to comment any further. Then, his story starts to change. He tells them that Yostin Murillo killed her. Why? Because she woke up. How? With the crowbar, he just hit her in the face five or six times. Beak says that they both exited the house after that. Investigators asked, "When you walked out, did you know she was dead?" Beak says no. He's asked again and gives the same answer. He didn't know she was dead.
46:54 Speaker 03 He insists he felt really bad and he wouldn't have broken into anyone's house if he hadn't been drinking. When shown the surveillance footage from the grocery store after the homicide, David Beak confirms that it's him on the bike and that Yostin Murillo is walking beside him. He describes changing clothes that night, saying he originally had a black jacket on but switched to a sweater. He indicates he may have given that sweater to Murillo to wear, but he's evasive and will not confirm what either of them were actually wearing when Ruttery Estrada was murdered.
47:34 Speaker 03 The investigators press him again about the DNA found on her. He admits he lied before and then clams up. They ask him if he ejaculated on her. No. Did you lick her? No. Then how did your DNA get on this woman? Did either one of you try to have sex with her? Beek admits that he did. Again, he insists he didn't kill her. As for why he wanted to have sex with her, David Beek says, It's just impulse.
48:11 Speaker 03 Now that he's opening up, they ask him to go through what happened again. He says that as they went up the stairs to the second level, Murillo whispered to him, We're going to have to knock them out if they wake up. And, you know, just like grab everything and let's go. David Beek says they entered the primary bedroom and the woman saw them. He immediately wanted to leave. But Yost and Murillo came out of nowhere and hit her with a crowbar. All David Beek says he can hear is t, t, t, followed by the sound of bubbles coming out of her mouth. He tells investigators,
48:54 Speaker 03 And I think I may have sexually harassed her or raped her. Again, he says he didn't ejaculate. Investigators ask him, did you put your penis in her vagina? He says he thinks he tried to, but he couldn't. He doesn't elaborate on why. He admits that it was probably him that took off her underwear. Investigators ask, was she already dead at that point? No idea.
49:27 Speaker 03 Whether or not Ruttery Estrada was dead at the time is important because under Canadian law, sexual assault charges require a living victim. If the assault happens after death, that's classified as interfering with a dead body, a lesser charge.
49:47 Speaker 03 David Beek says that only he sexually assaulted Ruttery. Yostin Murillo did not. And Murillo was the one who killed Ruttery. Beek insists he had no involvement with that.
50:03 Speaker 03 So was David Beek lying about any of this? He mentioned throwing his crowbar away as he followed Yostin Murillo to the home. A search of the area surrounding the home was conducted, which included pumping the contents of a sewer grate in front of a nearby home. And that's where they found a second metal bar approximately 19 inches long. There were leaves, hair and dirt attached to it. It was sent for forensic examination to check for indications of blood. No blood was detected. But it had been submerged in water, which is an effective way to wash away fresh blood.
50:46 Speaker 03 And by this point, it had been more than 10 days since the homicide. If that was the crowbar David Beek said he threw away, there's no way to prove whether it was before the murder as he said, or afterwards.
51:04 Speaker 03 The rest of the DNA results trickle in over the following months and years leading up to the trial. DNA profiles had been detected on the external genitalia swab, the vaginal swab, and the underwear around Ruttery's left leg. David Beek could not be excluded as a source or contributor. In other words, it's his DNA found in all three locations. Yostin Murillo's DNA profile is not detected in any of these areas.
51:39 Speaker 03 DNA belonging to Ruttery Estrada, David Beek and Yostin Murillo was found in the bloodstains on Murillo’s track pants. On the comforter placed over the window in the primary bedroom, those stains are Ruttery Estrada’s blood. But how did that comforter get up on the window? That detail will come out later. It was also Ruttery’s blood on the chisel found at the foot of the bed, on Yostin Murillo’s left shoe, and on her own phone, which was found in his possession. Back to the fingerprints found at the scene.
52:20 Speaker 03 About forty-five fingerprint impressions were located around the home, but only one proved relevant to this case. That’s the impression found on the kitchen window frame, the golden thumbprint. Without it, Yostin Murillo might never have been identified, and certainly not within forty-eight hours, which is when AFIS produced the hit. Neither Yostin Murillo nor David Beek were already in the national DNA databank, so the only way their DNA profiles could be compared to DNA found at the scene was because that thumbprint led to Murillo, which then led to Beek.
53:03 Speaker 03 But AFIS is just a tool, and a full analysis and comparison is conducted by forensic identification services. Both prints were found to have enough similarities to conduct further comparison. There’s a unique area of damaged skin on the thumb, likely a small scar from a previous injury, and it can be seen on both the print found on the window and the known print belonging to Yostin Murillo. That’s just one of a number of features with similar characteristics and similar locations with the same variations found on both thumbprints.
53:45 Speaker 03 The conclusion is the thumbprint found on the window frame was deposited by the same source as the thumbprint on file belonging to Yostin Murillo. A confirmed match.
54:03 Speaker 03 Next, an analysis of the dusty footwear impressions. There were dozens of them on the hardwood floor, leading from the basement up to the second floor where the bedrooms are. In the primary bedroom, the impressions were found on all sides of the bed and preserved under clothing on the floor as a result of the intruders ransacking the bedroom. Those impressions have left the exact same distinctive pattern. They come from the same pair of shoes. And one of Yostin Murillo's shoes has Rutterey's blood on it. The forensic investigators use a digital imaging technique to compare the sole of Murillo's shoes
54:47 Speaker 03 to the dusty footwear impressions left throughout the house. They both have the exact same distinctive pattern, a clear match. More evidence showing Yostin Murillo's movements in the house and placing him around the bed where Rutterey Estrada's body was found. David Beek's footprints were not found in the house, nor were any of his fingerprints. But his DNA, being found in the autopsy swabs taken from Rutterey's body, placed him directly at the crime scene as well. Remember that deportation order that Yostin Murillo had been issued in 2015?
55:30 Speaker 03 He launched an appeal and was able to stay in Canada pending that decision. Murillo's appeal was heard in 2019, the year after Rutterey Estrada was murdered. His main argument was not that the deportation order was unlawful. He asked for special relief on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, citing his ties to his young daughter and his younger sister and how his deportation would directly affect them.
56:03 Speaker 03 The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada found there was not enough evidence that Murillo had a meaningful relationship with either child. His daughter was still living with her maternal grandparents, and Murillo's relationship with her had been essentially non-existent since his incarceration, according to the panel. The family ties he claimed to have were not strong enough to outweigh his criminal history, low likelihood of rehabilitation, and the risk he posed to public safety. The panel also found that Murillo had been offered significant support over the years: mental health treatment, addiction services, housing supports, and employment programs.
56:48 Speaker 03 He consistently failed to avail himself of those supports, and he continued to use drugs, continued to offend, and continued to ignore court orders. His appeal was dismissed. Yostin Murillo's deportation order back to Costa Rica would stand, on paper, anyway. In practical terms, it changed nothing, because by that point, he was in custody awaiting trial for the murder of Rodri Estrada. If he were found guilty, he'd face a lengthy prison sentence. If he was found not guilty, he'd likely be deported back to his grandmother in Costa Rica.
57:32 Speaker 03 The trial began two years later, in 2021. Covid lockdown caused all trials to be put on hold, and this was actually the first jury trial in Toronto to begin after that. The Crown's theory of the case was that Yostin Murillo and David Beek armed themselves with metal bars and initially broke into the home with a plan to steal valuables. But when they entered the primary bedroom, their motive shifted to sexual assault. Rodri Estrada tried to fight two predators to protect her three young children sleeping down the hall, according to the Crown.
58:17 Speaker 03 The jury heard testimony from the paramedics, the first officers on the scene of the crime, the forensic pathologist, the forensic investigators and the detectives. But the first witness was Gerald Aquinti, Roddery's husband. He described going to the grand opening of his cousin's restaurant after he finished at his own restaurant, arriving home at around 2 a.m. He looked right at the two men on trial and focused on answering the questions so they would know on no uncertain terms the gut-wrenching devastation he felt when he discovered his wife's body. Gerald saw no reaction from either of them as he testified.
59:03 Speaker 03 And then it was the defence's turn. For the first time, Justin Murillo would give his version of what happened inside Roddery Estrada's home. David Beek would also take the stand. His account at trial would shift slightly from what he told investigators, particularly when it came to one crucial question.
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1:00:25 Speaker 03 Both David Beek and Yostin Murillo testified in their own defence. They claimed they were intoxicated and their judgement was clouded that night. Murillo went first. This was the first time he'd given any version of events. Remember, he did not speak to investigators. He testified that he'd been homeless for three years at the time and was stealing to feed himself and support his drug habit. He met David Beek about five months earlier. They shared a love of partying, drugs, music and working out.
1:01:05 Speaker 03 That night, Murillo said he was high on crystal meth, cannabis, cocaine and he'd been drinking alcohol. He and David Beek were breaking into garages and sheds on a nearby street. A crowbar was among the items he stole. When they arrived at the home where Rhoderie and her daughters were sleeping, Murillo said he saw no car in the driveway and it was very dark in between the houses, except for a light on in the basement. He peered in and saw dug-up gravel and construction materials, which he said led him to believe the house was under construction and no one was at home.
1:01:47 Speaker 03 Yostin Murillo testified he attempted to enter through the kitchen window. This explained that thumbprint. He wasn't successful, so he instead broke in through the basement window, using the crowbar he'd stolen earlier to remove the screen. He then let David Beek in through the side door.
1:02:39 Speaker 03 Murillo testified that he'd found a pry bar, his words, inside the home. He used it to force open the internal door that leads to the main floor and kitchen, breaking it off its hinges completely. He carried both metal bars with him into the kitchen, the crowbar he got earlier and the pry bar he said he'd just picked up, one in his hand and the other zipped in his sweatpants pocket. His testimony about this next part doesn't mention anything about David Beek being with him. After taking a laptop and two wallets from the main floor,
1:03:19 Speaker 03 Yostin Murillo said he went upstairs to the second level and entered a bedroom. He saw an iPhone beside a bed and took it. Then he realised a child was asleep in the top bunk. Yostin Murillo said the reason he didn't immediately leave the house when he realised people were inside it was because he believed he could still steal items. So he went into the primary bedroom where he saw a sleeping woman, Rodri. He saw a phone on the table beside the bed and took it. He testified he was about to grab a jar of change when he heard the woman wake up and say, "Oh no."
1:04:04 Speaker 03 He told the jury, "I panicked, I freaked out." He said he picked up the crowbar and struck Rodri, saying, "She was making a really bad noise." He described hitting the 41-year-old mother three or more times until she stopped screaming.
1:04:26 Speaker 03 At trial, Yostin Murillo was confronted with the autopsy finding that Rodri had been hit at least eight times. He said he was panicking and couldn't remember the number, and he didn't intend to kill her, he said. It was impulse. He wished he'd just left the house instead of continuing to strike her. He testified he was alone when this happened, and then David Beek reenters the picture. Murillo isn't sure if Rodri Estrada was dead or alive at this point. Quote, "All I know is she was not making any sound after I hit her." Yostin Murillo testified that he told David Beek they needed to leave.
1:05:11 Speaker 03 He ran down the stairs and out of the house. Beek did not go with him. Murillo said he walked a few houses down the street, threw the crowbar in a black garbage can, and began chugging wine while waiting for his accomplice. He started rifling through the items he had stolen that night, and confirmed he found a nurse's ID and later threw it away. At this point, Yostin Murillo testified he suddenly realised he'd left the pry bar inside the bedroom, and he walked back to the house to retrieve it. He ran into David Beek just outside the house and asked him, "Where did you go? What's going on?"
1:05:55 Speaker 03 Beek didn't answer. Murillo told him he was going back in to get the pry bar. When Yostin Murillo re-entered the primary bedroom, he noticed that the woman on the bed, Rodri Estrada, was now naked. He testified that she was not like that before he left. He insisted there was never a plan to sexually assault her. He said he looked for the pry bar but he couldn't find it, so he exited the house again after about thirty or forty seconds.
1:06:31 Speaker 03 A crowbar is apparently a larger and thicker version of a pry bar, but investigators had found what they described as a large rusty chisel at the end of the bed. That's the one that had Rodri Estrada's blood on it. Perhaps this is what Yostin Murillo was referring to as "the pry bar", but on the other hand, he had earlier testified that he'd only used that pry bar to break the internal door leading to the main floor off its hinges. He said he used the crowbar to bludgeon Rodri, then threw it in the black garbage can a few houses down.
1:07:11 Speaker 03 But again, this was the very first time Yostin Murillo gave his version of events. It's not known if investigators searched local garbage cans on the street during the initial search, but if they did, nothing noteworthy was found. Murillo testified that he and David Beek went to a local coffee shop to go through the stolen items together. He asked Beek why the woman was naked when he went back to get the pry bar. Beek told him, "I fucked up. I tried to have sex with her." Yostin Murillo testified he never saw David Beek again after that night.
1:07:59 Speaker 03 Beek's testimony began in a similar way. That evening, he and Yostin Murillo broke into several garages. But at trial, he doesn't mention anything about what he initially told investigators, that he took a crowbar from a garage but threw it away before he got to the home where Ruttery Estrada and her daughters were asleep. The court heard that a crowbar had been located in a sewer grate near the home, submerged in water. If there was any evidence tying it to the crime, it wasn't detectable by the point that crowbar was recovered.
1:08:38 Speaker 03 The crowbar pry bar thing is a confusing mystery, but it ultimately has no bearing on the central facts of the case.
1:08:49 Speaker 03 David Beek testified he did not participate in the break-in. After being let in the side door, he says he waited downstairs while Yostin Murillo went upstairs to look for things to steal. Beek had originally told investigators that at this point, Murillo whispered to him, "We're going to have to knock them out if they wake up." But when asked about this at trial, Beek admitted he was lying at the time in an attempt to put more blame on Murillo.
1:09:23 Speaker 03 So according to David Beek, he waited downstairs for a while, but decided to go upstairs to tell Murillo they needed to leave. That's when he realised there were children asleep in the first two bedrooms. He testified he heard something like a scuffle coming from the primary bedroom, and moved toward the sound.
1:09:47 Speaker 03 When he got to the doorway, he saw Yostin Murillo beside the bed, striking a woman in the head five or six times, Ruttery Estrada. At that point, it appears Murillo realised Beek was there, told him he had just killed someone and that they should leave. Murillo then headed for the staircase. But Beek testified he did not follow Murillo, he remained behind. He told the jury he knew the woman was dead at that point. Quote, "No way anyone can survive that." David Beek testified he picked up the bloodstained comforter and hung it over one of the bedroom windows.
1:10:31 Speaker 03 He then returned to the bed, removed Ruttery's underwear, and attempted to sexually assault her for about 10 to 20 seconds. He testified that Yostin Murillo was not in the room during this time. The court had previously heard that only Beek's DNA was found on Ruttery Estrada's body.
1:10:55 Speaker 03 On cross-examination, David Beek admitted he was also lying in his original statement, when he told investigators he had "no idea" if Ruttery was alive or dead. He said he'd never been questioned by a police detective before that, and he didn't want to admit the truth, but there's no way of escaping it now. Beek said there was no doubt in his mind that Ruttery Estrada was dead when he attempted to sexually assault her.
1:11:27 Speaker 03 He testified that he was "truly sorry", quote, "What I did was sickening and shameful. I don't understand how I could do something like that."
1:11:40 Speaker 03 In closing arguments, Crown Prosecutor Beverley Richards urged the jury to reject the false version of events given by Murillo and Beek, where they conveniently happened to be separated at key moments. The Crown presented a possible alternative version of events. Rodri Estrada was a light sleeper and would have likely woken up when the pair forced entry into the home, both armed with metal bars. Rodri was fiercely protective of her daughters, and she likely came out and said something. It was possible that when the two men heard her, they stopped looking for valuables to
1:12:22 Speaker 03 steal and both went upstairs with their metal bars, where they found her alone in her bedroom. That's when they made a choice. In the course of sexually assaulting and forcibly confining Rodri Estrada, both men repeatedly hit her in the head with those metal bars, at least eight times. They broke every bone in her face and left her unrecognisable to her husband when he came home later that night. Jostin Murillo's claim that he started attacking Rodri within seconds was contradicted by the disarray in the bedroom, the significant blood spatter, and the wounds to Rodri's hand.
1:13:07 Speaker 03 This evidence suggested an intense struggle where she tried to defend herself. As for David Beek, the Crown pointed out that even if the jury was uncertain about whether he directly participated in the murder, they should refer to his own testimony about his conduct when he was alone with Rodri in the primary bedroom. She had just been viciously assaulted, yet he did not call for help, he did not try to help her, he made a conscious choice to exploit her vulnerability and attempt to sexually assault her. The Crown argued that David Beek's behaviour was consistent with participating in the murder,
1:13:52 Speaker 03 or at a very minimum, aiding and abetting Yostin Murillo, knowing his intent to kill. And about their claims to have been so intoxicated or high they weren't aware, or couldn't have formed intent that night, the Crown highlighted moments where they made conscious, deliberate decisions. Like when they realised people were asleep inside the house, they chose to continue what they were doing. David Beek chose to block the window with a bloodstained comforter, and Yostin Murillo chose to return to the house to look for the pry bar. It was all evidence of awareness and intent. Based on the evidence,
1:14:34 Speaker 03 the Crown urged the jury to find that both men were armed with metal bars, and they acted together to unlawfully confine, sexually assault, and murder Ruttery Estrada.
1:14:52 Speaker 03 There's a section of the Canadian Criminal Code that allows a murder to be classified as first degree, even if the required elements of planning or intent can't be proven. This exception is when the offender causes death during the commission or attempt of certain serious offences. These include kidnapping, hostage-taking, aircraft hijackings, as well as sexual assault and forcible confinement. The Crown argued that this case met that threshold. The jury did not need to make a finding on each man's level of participation or intent. They both acted together,
1:15:35 Speaker 03 and therefore, they should both be found guilty of first-degree murder.
1:15:44 Speaker 03 In defence closing arguments, Yostin Murillo's lawyer, Brian Ross, told the jury that Murillo panicked and attacked Rodri Estrada, but there was no intent to kill. There was no evidence that he participated in the sexual assault, no evidence of unlawful confinement. The defence urged the jury to find Murillo guilty of manslaughter or second degree murder at most, and he should be acquitted of sexual assault. David Beek's lawyer, Greg Leslie, argued that Beek should be acquitted of both charges. He didn't participate in the murder, and while his actions in sexually assaulting Rodri afterwards were reprehensible,
1:16:29 Speaker 03 "Rodri, however horrible it sounds, was dead. The law is clear that it's not a sexual assault if a person is dead."
1:16:42 Speaker 03 It had been a harrowing six-week trial, and the jury deliberated for a further five days. During this time, they reportedly asked the judge eight different questions. Some of the questions concerned Yostin Murillo's potential role in the sexual assault, and whether David Beek was an active participant in the murder, even if he did not strike the fatal blows directly. In the end, the jury agreed with the Crown's theory that Rodri Estrada was murdered during the commission of a sexual assault. Both Yostin Murillo and David Beek were found guilty of first degree murder.
1:17:26 Speaker 03 When Geralda Quinty heard the verdict, he wept in relief.
1:17:33 Speaker 03 Ruttery Estrada's loved ones gave victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing, describing Derry as "someone who made people feel safe and looked after", and she was "an incredible mother". Gerald Aquintey described his wife as "the architect of their family". "I have a hard time remembering my wife's graceful face because the only thing I see is her face when I found her lifeless, her face beaten up and swollen."
1:18:05 Speaker 03 Looking at Murillo and Beak, he asked: "Why, why? Why did you do such a thing? Why couldn't you just leave when you found out someone was home? Now I am a husband with no wife, my kids with no mother. Without her, our lives have no direction." At the end of his statement, Gerald turned to his three daughters and Ruttery's parents and said: "I am so sorry I was not able to protect Derry. I hope you can forgive me, I'm sorry."
1:18:42 Speaker 03 Their eldest daughter, by this point 17 years old, spoke about how her mother had been building the life she dreamed of with her family. "Just like that, my world fell apart."
1:18:57 Speaker 03 She shared that she struggles with depression, PTSD, and severe anxiety. She continues to question why, when confronted with a door with a double lock, the offenders chose to break it down anyway.
1:19:15 Speaker 03 Their middle daughter, who was by this point 15 years old, shared her big regret. She didn't tell her mother "I love you" before bed that night. "I think about how she won't be here to watch us become adults and start our own families. I think about how I was never able to thank her for all she's done for me."
1:19:39 Speaker 03 Rutterey's co-workers from the team she led at St Joseph's Healthcare Centre dialysis unit provided a statement as well. A memorial plaque on display at the hospital pays tribute to Rutterey's life of service and dedication to others. It reads: "She chose a profession centred on care and comfort, but had her own right to life inhumanely terminated. We will never fully recover. We cannot, nor will ever, understand the evil acts that took her from us."
1:20:16 Speaker 03 Before delivering their automatic sentence for first-degree murder, Justice Ian McDonald asked David Beak and Yostin Murillo if they would like to speak. Beak declined. Murillo offered an apology, quote: "I was out of control of my life through alcohol and drugs, but I am fully accountable for my actions that night. I am genuinely sorry to her and her family for the loss and suffering I caused."
1:20:49 Speaker 03 Justice McDonald described the murder of 41-year-old Rutterey Estrada as "deeply disturbing, the stuff of nightmares." He noted the brutality of the attack by two strangers in the middle of the night, inside the home she had every reason to believe was safe, while her three young daughters slept nearby. The judge rejected the defence's attempts to frame the murder as a panicked escalation during a break-in, noting the jury's verdict made it clear they were satisfied that, quote: "Once the defendant saw Ms Estrada in her nightgown, the break-in took a dark turn."
1:21:31 Speaker 03 Justice McDonald pointed out that the devastation extended far beyond Rutterey Estrada herself, to her husband and children, her local community, and the broader sense of safety people place in their own homes. With that, he sentenced Murillo and Beak to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
1:22:04 Speaker 03 It should be noted that about a month after sentencing, Alicia Harsham reported for the Toronto Star that Yostin Murillo had identified as a woman while in custody and was transferred to a provincial women's prison a few months before the trial, per provincial policy. Just before the trial began, Murillo's defence lawyer requested the jury not be told about Murillo's reported gender identity or the transfer. Throughout the trial, Murillo presented as male and was referred to with male pronouns by the court, counsel and witnesses. At a press conference after the trial, according to the Toronto Star, the defence was asked
1:22:49 Speaker 03 whether Murillo wanted to be referred to differently going forward. Murillo's lawyer declined to provide an answer. To date, there have been no further updates or clarification around this, as both Murillo and David Beek launched appeals asking for a new trial. Those appeals were dismissed in 2025. In this episode, we've used the pronouns established in the official trial record, per Murillo's preference. This is also standard reporting practice in cases where an offender changes their gender identity after being incarcerated.
1:23:30 Speaker 03 It's not intended to dismiss or challenge Murillo's reported gender identity, but rather to accurately reflect the court proceedings and maintain continuity.
1:23:42 Speaker 03 One last thing. Remember those charges Murillo was facing about two months before he murdered Ruttery Estrada, after his violent rampage where he assaulted several people with metal bars? Those charges were still outstanding when the trial took place, so the jury was not allowed to hear about them until after the verdict. At that time, global news reported that another jury trial had been scheduled for Murillo in 2023 to deal with those charges. That trial never happened. It's likely those charges were stayed, given Murillo was already serving a life sentence.
1:24:35 Speaker 03 Ruttery and Gerald's eldest daughter had her grade eight graduation just a month after the murder. It should have been another proud, joyful milestone for the whole family. Instead, they had to move through another celebration with Ruttery's absence at the centre of it, trying to smile while grieving the person who should have been standing beside them.
1:25:03 Speaker 03 They sold their family home the following year. It was just too traumatic for them to continue living there.
1:25:13 Speaker 03 A little over a year ago, a fire broke out at Tenuno, Gerald Aquintey restaurant on Howard Street in downtown Toronto. He and his business partner released a statement saying the fire had tested them. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the restaurant was shut down for several months while the team worked to rebuild and restore the space. Tenuno reopened late last year to similar rave reviews: a cosy and intimate space filled with overlapping conversations and laughter. The delicious smell of garlic rice, fried fish, grilled meats, and food that comes out faster than you expect.
1:26:01 Speaker 03 In an episode of Crime Beat TV by Global News, Gerald Aquintey tells journalist Catherine McDonald that he always encourages his daughters to try to do their best. He wants them to know their mother's story, to never forget how hard she worked and how great of a person she was. Here's how he described his wife.
1:26:25 Speaker 06 I want them to know that she gave everything to us. Her life. Roderick Strada. She's my best friend. My wife. My light in my darkest times. My compass when I'm lost. She was a loving wife. A great mother. My best friend. Our life.
1:26:57 Speaker 03 Thanks for listening, and special thanks to Gerald Aquintey. I was honoured to be invited to present this case at the recent Ontario Forensic Investigators Association Education Conference. It was a humbling and meaningful experience, and I loved getting the chance to speak to so many forensic professionals about the important work they do. Special thanks to Detective Constable Adrian Piccolo, the comms director for the Ontario Forensic Investigators Association, for all his help with my presentation. And also to Constable Don Laurel for connecting me with Roderick's family. Please respect their privacy.
1:27:40 Speaker 03 This case was pieced together from multiple court documents, the news archives, including Filipino media ABS-CBN, and trial reporting from Catherine McDonald for Global News, and Alicia Harsham and Betsy Powell for The Toronto Star, as well as selected case files. For the full list of resources and anything else you want to know about the podcast, visit canadiantruecrime.ca and follow us on the Canadian True Crime Facebook and Instagram pages to see photos and clippings from this case. If you found this episode compelling, we'd love for you to tell a friend, post on social media, or leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts.
1:28:24 Speaker 03 Audio editing was by Crosby Audio and Eric Crosby voiced the disclaimer. Our senior producer is Lindsay Eldridge. Research, writing, narration and sound design was by me and the theme song was composed by We Talk of Dreams. Stay tuned over the summer for our major case updates episodes. And I'll be back in early September with the next Canadian true crime story. See you then.
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