The Unsolved Murder of Patricia Bovin

 Case File Overview

Patricia Bovin was murdered when she was only 22 years old. She lived at 790 King Street in London, Ontario with her two children.

A friend called Patricia on Thursday, April 24th, 1969. When she didn’t answer, the friend went by the apartment at 4:00 pm that afternoon and found Patricia’s body.

It was a nightmare scene. Patricia’s two young boys, aged one and three, were by their mother’s body. It was as if they were waiting for her to wake-up. They were sobbing, dirty, and hungry.

The front door that accessed the staircase was unlocked. And a neighbour found a pillow case covered in blood by the front of the building. Therefore, the front door was the probable entry point. There were no obvious signs of forced entry.

The apartment was in disarray. Chairs and other items were scattered around. Not by the murderer, though. The children had moved the items in an attempt to reach food.

Nothing was stolen from the apartment.

Patricia was stabbed over a dozen times in the torso while asleep on the couch. She had no defensive wounds and wasn’t sexually assaulted.

Patricia’s murder remains unsolved.

Patricia Bovin

Case File Theories

Ex-boyfriend

Was Patricia murdered by her ex-boyfirend? Patricia’s ex killed himself within hours of finding out about her murder.

Was he overcome with grief? Or did he kill himself to avoid punishment?

It’s impossible to know for sure. But the neighbours didn’t hear any arguing. And Patricia had no defensive wounds. This suggests that Patricia wasn’t killed during a fight with her ex.

Sandor Fulep

In Murder City, Michael Arntfield connects Patricia’s murder with the murder of Victoria Mayo.

Victoria was a recently divorced 32-year-old mother. Her murder occurred on the morning of August 6th, 1964. Victoria lived in London, Ontario at 194 Sydenham Street. Her child found Victoria dead in bed. She’d been stabbed over a dozen times in the torso while asleep.

Neighbours heard Victoria’s son’s cries and called the police. The police were let in by the building superintendent. The door was locked, and the child was too young to reach the lock.

The police didn’t find any useful fingerprints or footprints. This is odd because the perpetrator needed to scale a wall and climb through the window to enter the apartment. The police did, however, identify the killer’s blood type. He cut himself during the attack. Thirty more years would pass, though, before DNA testing was possible.

The similarities to Patricia’s case are startling. Home-invasion style entry. No witnesses. Killed while asleep. Nothing stolen. No defensive wounds. No sexual assault. Stabbed multiple times in the torso. Children unharmed. And the women’s homes were only 3.7 km (2.30 mi) apart.

In October of 1967, Sandor Fulep confessed to Victoria’s murder. He was an unemployed Hungarian transient worker. Sandor, though, wasn’t held accountable for his crime. First he was deemed mentally unfit. And then authorities said there was a lack of evidence to support his confession. Shortly afterwards, he was “cured” and released.

In February 2000, London Police Service announced that Project Angel had solved Victoria’s murder. The unit exhumed Sandor’s body, conducted DNA testing, and determined Sandor was indeed Victoria’s killer.

Patricia’s and Victoria’s murders are so similar. I think it’s possible that Sandor also murdered Patricia. And perhaps many more women.

Who do you think murdered Patricia?

Patricia and her loved ones deserve justice. If you have any information about this murder, please contact London Police Service at 519-661-5670.

Related Reading

Patricia Bovin – London Police Service case overview

Murder City – book by Michael Arntfield

Interested in unsolved murders? Check out the murder of Deanna Cremin and the disappearance and suspected murder of Caitlin Potts.

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