The Unsolved Homicide of Melissa Jane Letain | Edmonton, Alberta (1987)
On the evening of February 13, 1987, 24-year-old Melissa Jane Letain finished her shift as a hairdresser at West Edmonton Mall and began walking home.
Melissa left the mall at approximately 9:10 p.m. She was carrying a rose, a Valentine’s Day card and a pink-and-red pennant she had purchased for her boyfriend. Her apartment was only about five blocks from the mall.
Melissa followed her usual route along a pedestrian walkway near 87 Avenue and 177 Street in west Edmonton. At approximately 9:26 p.m., a woman called Edmonton police to report seeing a man assaulting a woman on the pathway. Officers arrived two minutes later but found no one at the scene.
The witness later explained that she had heard a groan or gurgling sound before turning and seeing a man holding a woman and telling her to remain quiet. The woman was no longer struggling as the man dragged her away. The man looked directly at the witness, leaving her deeply frightened that he might later recognize or locate her. Investigators eventually concluded that the woman she had seen was likely Melissa.
Contemporary reports indicate that a Valentine’s Day card was found near the pathway but was discarded because officers did not initially believe it was connected to the reported assault. Retrospective reporting later stated that Melissa’s card, rose and pennant had been scattered in the snow near the suspected abduction site.
The following afternoon, February 14, students participating in a snowshoe race discovered Melissa’s fully clothed body on the frozen North Saskatchewan River beneath the Genesee Bridge, approximately 75 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
Melissa had been strangled.
Public reporting has not been consistent about whether she was also sexually assaulted. Articles published immediately after her death stated that no evidence of sexual assault had been found. A retrospective report published in 1993 stated that Melissa had been physically and sexually assaulted before her death. Because the available reporting conflicts, this detail should be treated cautiously.
One of the most distinctive pieces of evidence was the rope used in Melissa’s murder. It was described as a four-to-five-foot length of yellow, four-strand polypropylene rope with yellow plastic reinforcing each strand. The manufacturer had discontinued that particular product several years earlier, leading investigators to believe the rope may have been stored for some time. It had been fashioned into a hangman’s noose with seven coils and used in combination with pantyhose.
Several of Melissa’s belongings were never recovered. They included her black leather purse, small red wallet, watch, personal identification and a CN-logo keychain holding five keys. Police released images of similar items in the hope that someone would recognize them.
The man seen on the pathway was described as approximately six feet tall, with a slim-to-medium build and dark hair swept back at the sides. He was wearing dark pants and a two-tone, possibly black-and-grey, hip-length jacket.
More than 35 investigators initially worked on Melissa’s case. By the end of 1987, police had identified approximately 850 leads and had investigated about 700 of them.
In July 1989, the RCMP assembled a 26-member task force involving officers from Edmonton, Stony Plain, St. Albert and Leduc. The investigators reviewed 60 tips and followed several possible suspects, but the operation did not result in an arrest.
By 1993, police said Melissa’s relatives and acquaintances had been eliminated as suspects. Investigators believed the person responsible may have been a stranger who had watched Melissa’s movements before approaching her on the pathway.
The case was later entered into the RCMP’s Violent Criminal Linkage Analysis System, known as VICLAS, to identify possible connections with similar crimes. By 1995, investigators were also using newer forensic methods to examine DNA samples connected to more than 30 people who had been considered during the investigation. None of those efforts identified the person responsible.
More than 39 years after Melissa left work carrying Valentine’s Day gifts for someone she loved, her murder remains unsolved.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through p3tips.com, or through the P3 Tips mobile application.
Posted Aug 9, 2026, 5:02 PM UTC