William Stone Jr.

In the quiet, early hours of a frigid winter morning in Whitby, Ontario, a single gunshot shattered the silence at the Grand Trunk Railway's Whitby Junction Station, leaving behind a mystery that would endure for more than a century. William “Billy” Stone Jr., a 21-year-old male telegraph operator, was the sole employee on duty, diligently working the night shift as he always did. The handsome young man was known around town, and his sudden, violent death in his workplace left a permanent scar on the community.

The fatal event occurred at approximately 12:37 AM on Friday, December 11, 1914. Just moments after the shot was fired, Stone managed to make a desperate call to the local Bell Telephone switchboard. "Get me the Chief, quick. I’ve been shot!" he pleaded. When the operator asked who had shot him, Stone could only reply that he did not know. By the time help arrived at the isolated station, it was too late. Billy Stone had succumbed to a single bullet wound to his chest that had penetrated his heart.

Investigators descended on the scene, but the crime offered few immediate answers. The station appeared undisturbed; nothing was out of place, and no money had been stolen from the cash box, ruling out a simple robbery. Police determined that the shot was not fired at close range, as there were no powder burns on Stone’s clothing. The evidence suggested the killer had likely stood in the station’s waiting room and fired through the ticket window where the unsuspecting telegraph operator was working. The only significant clue left behind was a bloody handprint found at the scene. Curiously, when investigators examined the victim, they noted that Billy Stone’s own hands were perfectly clean.

The investigation that followed turned up several leads but no concrete suspect. The last person known to have seen Stone alive was an accountant from a nearby asylum who had walked past the dispatcher's office at 12:05 AM. In January 1915, a formal inquest was convened, and numerous individuals were questioned. Among them was the victim’s own father, William Stone Sr. The experience proved to be devastating for him. Believing he was being implicated as the primary suspect in his son's murder, the elder Stone was overwhelmed by the accusation and the grief. In a tragic turn of events, he walked to a spot on the railway tracks not far from where his son was killed and ended his own life by lying in the path of an oncoming train.

The double tragedy compounded the community's shock and sorrow, but it brought the investigation no closer to a resolution. Over the years, theories about a motive have circulated, suggesting the murder could have been rooted in a gambling debt or a secret love affair, but no evidence has ever surfaced to substantiate these claims. The identity of the person who left the bloody handprint remains unknown, and no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with the crime.

Today, the old Whitby Junction Station building no longer serves the railway. It was moved from its original location and now houses the Station Gallery, a community art space. Though renovated, the building's history is not forgotten. Staff and visitors have reported paranormal experiences, with some claiming to have seen the ghost of a man walking through walls where doorways once stood. The story of Billy Stone is now part of local lore, a haunting reminder of an unsolved murder. One hundred years after his death, in December 2014, the gallery held an event to remember the young man and re-examine the details of his infamous cold case. As of 2026, the murder of Billy Stone remains officially unsolved.