A ‘relentless’ pursuit: OPP lay murder charge in 34-year-old cold case
Police in a small Ontario town have charged a 70-year-old man with first-degree murder after “tirelessly” working to try and solve the death of a woman in the early 1990s.
Ontario Provincial Police said that on Oct. 9, 1991, 40-year-old Angelien Josephine Quesnelle was reported missing in Apsley, near Peterborough.
Officers stationed in Belleville were called to investigate the disappearance. Quesnelle had last been seen two days earlier, around noon. An “exhaustive” search took place, but the woman was nowhere to be found.
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A month later, Quesnelle’s vehicle was found abandoned in a quarry. Another search was instigated, and some of her possessions were found nearby.
The next week, police said a hunter discovered her body. A post-mortem took place in Toronto and the woman’s death was deemed a homicide.
OPP said officers “continued to investigate” for the next 34 years. On June 19, 2025, they arrested and charged a 70-year-old man from Bath, Ont. He is accused of first-degree murder.
“Angelien Quesnelle was murdered in 1991 and, for 34 years, her family has lived without answers,” Det. Insp. Shawn Glassford said in a statement.
“OPP investigators have never stopped searching for her killer, relentless in their pursuit of the truth. This arrest represents an important step toward providing Angelien’s family and the community of Apsley with the long-awaited answers they deserve.”
Global News asked OPP what led to the breakthrough in the decades-old case. Investigators did not respond in time for publication.
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