Alexander Romeo LeBlanc

Alexander "Sandy" Romeo LeBlanc was a popular and well-known 29-year-old man in Toronto's gay community in the 1970s. A prominent figure in the city's nightlife, he was the manager and co-owner of several gay clubs and discotheques in the Church and Carlton Street area, including the Studio II disco and Club David's. The latter also became a notable spot for Toronto's burgeoning punk rock scene. Sandy was last seen alive at 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 20, 1978, likely after leaving a party at Studio II celebrating the club's second anniversary.

Later that day, when friends were unable to get in touch with him, they grew concerned. Shortly after 7:00 p.m., three of them went to his apartment at 16 St. Joseph Street, then known as St. Joseph Court. After forcing their way inside, they made a horrific discovery. Sandy was on the floor, his body bearing the marks of a vicious and prolonged attack. He had been severely beaten and stabbed more than 100 times from head to foot. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crime scene was described as particularly brutal by one of the first Toronto Police officers to arrive, former constable David Penny, for whom it was his first homicide case. Reports from the time noted that the carpet was so saturated with blood that it squished under the officers' feet. Bloody footprints led from the bedroom to a window that overlooked an alley, and a bloody handkerchief was found on the front lawn. The sheer violence of the attack suggested a deep-seated rage on the part of the killer.

The Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad launched an investigation, with Sergeant Julian Fantino appealing to the gay community for any information about Sandy's movements in the early hours of September 20. He assured the public that any tips would be treated with the strictest confidence. Sandy's murder was the second of a gay man in Toronto that week, though an arrest was made in the other case, that of Gerald Douglas White, and the two were not believed to be related.

Sandy’s death was one of at least seven unsolved homicides of gay men in Toronto between 1975 and 1978. Many of these cases shared similarities, including extreme, up-close violence such as beatings, strangulation, or stabbing. This series of brutal killings instilled fear and anxiety within the city's gay community, with speculation that a serial killer might be responsible. The climate of the era, marked by tensions between the police and the gay community, often hampered investigations as many potential witnesses feared being publicly outed.

Decades later, the case of Alexander "Sandy" LeBlanc remains unsolved, listed by the Toronto Police Service as Homicide #41/1978. In April 2018, with the arrest of serial killer Bruce McArthur, who targeted men from Toronto's Gay Village, police announced they were re-examining cold cases from the 1970s, including Sandy's, for any potential links. At the time, McArthur would have been in his late twenties and working in Toronto. However, no definitive connection has been publicly announced. The Toronto Police Service continues to seek information from the public. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit at 416-808-7400 or [email protected].