Cheri Lynn Smith

Cheri Lynn Smith was remembered by her parents as an adorable, loving little girl growing up in a close-knit, middle-class family in Regina, Saskatchewan. In her youth, she was deeply involved in her church, where she was part of a puppet troupe called ‘The God Squad’ and served as a peer counsellor who read the bible daily. Cheri was an outgoing and popular B+ student at her Catholic high school, playing flute, piano, baseball, and ringette. Her parents, Ed and Linda Smith, recalled a wonderful relationship with their daughter through her early years. However, her life grew turbulent in high school, and she began acting out. In the summer before Grade 12, the 18-year-old woman met a young man at Regina’s annual fair and fell in love.

Just weeks after meeting him, Cheri moved with her new boyfriend to Edmonton. The man she thought she loved was a pimp who lured her into a life of sexual exploitation, trafficking her to cities across Western Canada. Her path eventually led her to Victoria, British Columbia. Cheri was last seen alive in the downtown area on June 4, 1990. Three months later, on September 9, 1990, her body was discovered dumped in the underbrush of a regional park off Munns Road in the nearby municipality of Saanich. An investigation determined she had been savagely beaten to death. At the time of her murder, Cheri was six months pregnant.

The Saanich Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation. Despite their efforts, her killer has never been identified. Cheri’s murder was one of three unsolved killings of young women involved in the Victoria sex trade over a one-year period. Kimberly Gallup, 17, was found strangled in a motel in November 1990, and Melissa Nicholson, 17, was found beaten to death near Shawnigan Lake in June 1991. At the time, police could not establish a definite link between the cases. However, years later, retired Saanich Police staff sergeant Chris Horsley stated he had "no doubt at all" that a serial killer was targeting street workers in Victoria during that period.

In the decades since her death, Cheri's parents became pioneers in the fight against sex trafficking in Canada, sustained by their Christian faith. "For us, the core is our faith in Jesus Christ that no matter what happens to us, God loves us," her mother, Linda, shared. "The difficult things that happen to us make us better people when we reach out to God and ask for his help." The media's portrayal of the murdered teens as "hookers" at the time was deeply hurtful to the families, who now understand the girls were victims of trafficking. In 2024, the cases of Cheri, Kimberly, and Melissa were revisited in a podcast series called 'Sweethearts,' which shed new light on who the girls were and why their murders remain unsolved.

The investigation into Cheri’s murder is now a cold case, but it has never been closed. In a June 2025 statement marking the 35th anniversary of her disappearance, Saanich police confirmed the homicide file remains open and active. "Our hearts go out to her family and friends, as we recognize that even though time has passed, Cheri’s death continues to have an effect on their lives," the department stated.

No arrests have ever been made, and Cheri's murder continues to haunt the community and her surviving loved ones. The family waits for answers, hoping that someone will come forward with the information needed to bring a killer to justice. Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $2,000 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call Saanich police at 250-474-4321 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).