March 8 2021 Brad Hunter
torontosun.com
''Four decades after the crack epidemic kicked off, the residual tragedies of that era are still washing ashore. Families and people forever shattered, along with swathes of urban wastelands.
One of those victims was a North York woman barely out of her teens whose once-promising life ended in a loveless industrial park.
People who knew Cheryl Roseann Nelson, 20, likely would never have dreamed her life would be ended in such a cruel manner.''
''On March 9, 1991, Nelson’s body was found behind a furniture wholesale building in an industrial complex on Eddystone Dr., near the 400 south of Finch Ave.''
She was discovered face down in the parking lot, likely a matter of hours after she was killed.
Cops said Nelson — who lived on Shoreham Ct. with her family — was driven to the scene and her naked body dumped by the killer. She had been stabbed and strangled.
Friends told the Toronto Sun at the time that when Nelson was around 18 years old, the crack world starting to ravage her neighbourhood swallowed her as well.
“I knew her quite a few years ago but haven’t seen her recently,” said one neighbour. “I thought she was a pretty young girl, a really nice kid.”
''But like many women who had become hopelessly addicted, she began selling her body for sex to finance her growing dependency on the off-white rocks.
Her turf was on Jane St. near Yorkwoods Gate. About 30 girls worked in the area, all desperate but wise enough to stroll in groups, keeping an eye out for each other.''
Periodically, Cheryl Nelson’s name would come up over the next 30 years. A reward was offered, cops would plead for information and then …. nothing.''
HUNTER: Crack, the streets and a three-decade-old Toronto cold case
Cheryl Roseann Nelson, 20, likely would never have dreamed her life would be ended in such a cruel manner.
''Four decades after the crack epidemic kicked off, the residual tragedies of that era are still washing ashore. Families and people forever shattered, along with swathes of urban wastelands.
One of those victims was a North York woman barely out of her teens whose once-promising life ended in a loveless industrial park.
People who knew Cheryl Roseann Nelson, 20, likely would never have dreamed her life would be ended in such a cruel manner.''
''On March 9, 1991, Nelson’s body was found behind a furniture wholesale building in an industrial complex on Eddystone Dr., near the 400 south of Finch Ave.''
She was discovered face down in the parking lot, likely a matter of hours after she was killed.
Cops said Nelson — who lived on Shoreham Ct. with her family — was driven to the scene and her naked body dumped by the killer. She had been stabbed and strangled.
Friends told the Toronto Sun at the time that when Nelson was around 18 years old, the crack world starting to ravage her neighbourhood swallowed her as well.
“I knew her quite a few years ago but haven’t seen her recently,” said one neighbour. “I thought she was a pretty young girl, a really nice kid.”
''But like many women who had become hopelessly addicted, she began selling her body for sex to finance her growing dependency on the off-white rocks.
Her turf was on Jane St. near Yorkwoods Gate. About 30 girls worked in the area, all desperate but wise enough to stroll in groups, keeping an eye out for each other.''
Periodically, Cheryl Nelson’s name would come up over the next 30 years. A reward was offered, cops would plead for information and then …. nothing.''
