Windsor police say media pressure led to releasing a name in the Ljubica Topic murder

Windsor police say a new chief and pressure from local media were factors in finally releasing the name of the man they say killed Ljubica Topic.

Topic was six years old when she was playing outside her family's home on Drouillard Road on May 14, 1971, and a stranger lured her with a promise of money. She was later found dead — abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered — near an alley a kilometre away from her home.

Police said in 2015 that they'd discovered new DNA evidence — two of Ljubica's teeth and one adult tooth — near where her body had been discovered. In December 2019, investigators said they'd found the man responsible but didn't say who it was.

On Wednesday, they finally provided a name — Frank Arthur Hill, who died in Edmonton in February 2019 at age 70.

Police say Hall was 22 when the little girl was murdered, and lived less than two kilometres down the street in the 1800 block of Drouillard Road.

Const. Bianca Jackson told CBC News Thursday that a Freedom of Information Act request from the Windsor Star was a factor in finally releasing the name. So was a change in leadership; Jason Bellaire was named as new chief in November. 

"It's definitely fair to give credit to the Windsor Star," Jackson said.

Also, "with our new leadership, we examined and ultimately came to a decision to make that change."

CBC News filed a similar request in 2020 and again in December 2022. Both were denied and one was in the process of being appealed. Windsor police denied the information citing deceased individuals have privacy rights for 30 years after death, releasing the name would be an unjustified invasion of privacy and because he's deceased, he no longer poses a threat to public safety.

"This individual was never arrested, charged or convicted of this crime and is now deceased," police said in January 2020. 

Jackson said police an "an internal discussion that led to a reversal to a decision that was made quite some time ago."

Bellaire said in a Wednesday media release that "we are committed to operating with full transparency and serving the interests of the people of Windsor and Amherstburg."

"We hope this decision meets the public's need for knowledge and offers the opportunity for members of the community to provide further information that may assist with other investigations." 

The case has attracted national interest over the years. It's been reopened six times since the 1970s, with hundreds of tips from across Canada and the U.S.