Mariam Debra Peters (1958/1959 – November 11, 1975) was a Canadian schoolgirl who was murdered at St. Patrick station on Line 1 Yonge–University in 1975. Her unsolved murder prompted safety reforms by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and led to alterations in the design of the Line 1 stations St. Patrick, Queen's Park and Museum.

Background

Mariam Debra Peters was one of three children of Holocaust survivors Max and Merle Peters.^[1][2] At the time of her murder, Peters was a grade 11 student at A. Y. Jackson Secondary School,^[3] and she was acquainted with the daughters of G. Gordon Hurlburt, who was the Chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission at the time.^[4]

Murder

On Friday, November 7, 1975, Peters and her mother, Merle, left their home at Willowdale. Peters was to visit her sick grandfather at Mount Sinai Hospital,^[1] so Merle dropped off her daughter at Finch station for her subway ride.^[2] At approximately 8:20 p.m., while leaving St. Patrick station in a "darkened passageway" between the northbound and southbound platforms, Peters was stabbed 16 times by an unknown assailant. She was discovered by the police on the station escalator,^[3][5] and was subsequently transported to the Toronto General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on November 11.^[2][5]

A person of interest was identified after being linked to the stabbing of another woman ten minutes later at a nearby location. However, no arrests were made in either case "due to the lack of direct evidence."^[3][6] The police offered a $10,000 reward for information about the killer, but the case remains unsolved.^[2][6]

Aftermath

A funeral, attended by 1,500 people, including members of the public, was held at the Pride of Israel Temple.^[2][3]

Immediately following the murder, permanent patrols of uniformed police were deployed to the subway line for the first time in TTC history.^[6] The Peters family petitioned TTC to install closed-circuit television in deserted areas of the subway stations. However, a joint study from TTC and the Toronto Police Service rejected the proposition due to the high cost of installation and hiring additional employees.^[3] Instead, passenger-activated alarm systems were installed in subway cars, and mirrors for better visibility of the car interior by the driver and guard were also tested.^[7]

The site of the murder, along with another passageway at Queen's Park station, were sealed off to "eliminate potential hiding places for lawbreakers".^[3] These spaces were converted to storage rooms. Following a police audit in 1982, a similar passageway was sealed off at the Museum station. Metal bars were used instead of solid walls to avoid blocking ventilation fans that had been installed, creating a "cage"-like appearance for this area.^[8] This section is being replaced with a second exit for Museum station since August 2022.

References