Thelma Clapham

Thelma Clapham was the kind of person who might just break out into a dance. A fun-loving mother of five and a proud grandmother, the 79-year-old female was remembered by her children as the heart of their family. Her daughter, Ione, described her as kind and compassionate, but also brutally honest. "If you didn't want to know if you had nice hair, you didn't ask," she recalled with a laugh. Her son, Greg, considered her his best friend. For four years, Thelma had lived alone in apartment #903 at 226 Rebecca Street, a subsidized housing building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. She was active and social, participating in many activities with the other tenants, who were mostly seniors. She had recently received a pacemaker and was feeling better, telling friends she would soon rejoin their regular bingo nights.

Concern grew on the morning of Thursday, December 2, 2004, when Thelma failed to show up for a regular bus outing to the grocery store. Some friends went to her ninth-floor apartment to check on her and noticed several newspapers piled up at the door. They alerted the building superintendent, who called the police. At the same time, Thelma’s son Greg was also worried. He had left several unanswered messages on her answering machine. In his last message, he told her, "Ok mom I don't know if you're screwing up the answering machine or what, but I'm on my way to see you, if you're there, stay there." Police were already inside his mother's apartment when the message played. They met him at the door, saving him from the scene inside.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., officers from the Hamilton Police Service entered the apartment and found Thelma’s body on her bedroom floor. An autopsy later confirmed she died as a result of blunt force trauma. Investigators believe she was killed sometime between Tuesday, November 30, when she was last seen alive, and the day she was found. There were no signs of forced entry into her apartment, leading police to believe she may have known her killer. While the apartment was not ransacked, some cash had been stolen.

The investigation into Thelma's murder was extensive. The Hamilton Police Service's Major Crime Unit spent days combing through the apartment for forensic evidence and interviewing residents of the building. Over the years, detectives have spoken to more than 200 people in connection with the case. This work led them to establish a small group of persons of interest, though no one has ever been charged. Investigators believe they know what kind of weapon was used in the attack, but it has never been recovered. A key piece of information that emerged from the investigation was that a female may have been involved in the crime, possibly with others.

Thelma’s family was left devastated and without answers. "My mother was the central parent, very important in all of our celebrations and support and she was always there for us," her son Greg said in a 2014 interview. The unsolved nature of the crime haunted him. "It's always on my mind, every time I hear about a murder or a murder is solved it immediately comes flooding back and I think one day, maybe we will know." Thelma's husband passed away nearly a decade after her murder, without ever knowing who was responsible for his wife's death.

As of January 2020, the Hamilton Police Service continues to investigate Thelma Clapham’s homicide and believes people in the community have information that could solve the case. Police have stated that, for various reasons, these individuals may have been reluctant to come forward. "It's believed a female is involved, maybe not on her own but it's still a viable theory," Detective Greg Rodzoniak stated in 2014.

The Hamilton Police Services Board is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Thelma's death. Hamilton Crime Stoppers also offers a reward of up to $2,000 for anonymous tips. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hamilton Police Major Crime Unit or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.