Frank Roberts

Frank Roberts was a self-made Canadian success story, a man whose invention brought comfort to millions and whose life ended in a brutal, calculated execution. The 67-year-old male was the president and CEO of OBUS Forme Ltd., the company he founded after creating the popular OBUS Forme backrest support cushion. To his employees, many of whom were new immigrants to Canada, he was a kind and respectful boss who gave them a chance at a better life. To his family, he was a grandfather to 13 children. His peers had twice honored his company as one of the nation's best-managed private enterprises, and he was once ranked among Canada's top entrepreneurs.

The morning of Thursday, August 13, 1998, began like any other for Roberts. He was a man of routine, arriving at his factory on Hopewell Avenue, near Dufferin Street in west Toronto, around 7:30 a.m. each day. At approximately 7:24 a.m., as he stepped out of his black Mercedes SL 500 convertible in the company parking lot, he was ambushed. A gunman shot him point-blank, twice in the chest and once in the head. The killer then fled in a waiting vehicle driven by an accomplice, disappearing before police arrived minutes later. Workers arriving for their shifts were met with the shocking scene of their beloved boss lying dead on the pavement.

The investigation, led by Toronto homicide detectives, immediately pointed toward a professional, contract-style killing. Police believed the killer knew Roberts's predictable schedule and lay in wait. As detectives delved into the victim's life, a picture emerged that was far more complex than his public image as a celebrated entrepreneur. While many employees and his brother insisted he didn't have an enemy in the world, investigators began to uncover a different story. A former OBUS executive told a reporter, "He made a lot of enemies." Police learned of a previous plot to murder Roberts by a Greater Toronto Area organized crime group, which was only aborted when the hired hitman backed out.

Detectives explored multiple potential motives, examining both Roberts's business and personal affairs. The patent on his signature product was nearing its expiration, and changes were underway within the company. Former homicide detective Ray Zarb, who worked the case for years, later said that organized crime was involved and that Roberts "was in the way of the company going a certain direction." Investigators also uncovered a secret personal life. The thrice-divorced Roberts had been lavishing expensive gifts on a 31-year-old married woman in Florida named Etty Sorrentino. He had recently taken out a large mortgage on his Toronto home and purchased a new house and a Mercedes for her. However, Sorrentino and her husband were on vacation in Italy at the time of the murder and had solid alibis.

In the days after the slaying, police received an anonymous phone call from a person who provided what authorities deemed "vital information," though the content of that tip has never been made public. Despite this and other leads, the case grew cold. Hundreds of mourners attended Roberts's funeral, where he was remembered as a happy and loved man. His ex-wife, Dominique Leval, who remained close to him, expressed the family's bewilderment at the crime scene, stating, "He was a very happy man, and he was loved. You ask me how, how, how. We would like to know because we don’t have any answers."

As of March 2022, the assassination of Frank Roberts remains an unsolved cold case with the Toronto Police Service. No suspects have ever been publicly identified or charged in connection with his murder. The questions of who wanted the successful CEO dead, and why, persist more than two decades after the fatal ambush in his company's parking lot.