In 2000, police linked the two murders to one unknown suspect from the DNA left at the scenes.
Joseph George Sutherland made his first court appearance Friday for the sex slaying of two Toronto women in 1983.
He appeared by video link at the Old City Hall court house Friday afternoon, but he had not yet secured a legal aid attorney and the matter was put over until December 16.
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Sutherland, 61, is charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice.
Tice, 45, was murdered on August 17, 1983 and was discovered dead by a family member in the upstairs bedroom of her residence. She was sexually assaulted and suffering from stab wounds.
Gilmour, 22, was murdered on December 20, 1983. She was found dead by a friend in her bedroom by a friend., She has been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death.
In 2000, police linked the two murders to one unknown suspect from the DNA left at the scenes.
Sutherland was arrested in Moosonee, Ont. last month.
“As relieved as we are to announce this arrest, it will never bring Erin or Susan back, and on behalf of the Toronto Police Service, I want to again express my condolences to their families,” Chief James Ramer said at a media conference on November 28.
“Toronto Police homicide detectives have never stopped investigating these reprehensible crimes or seeking to find the person responsible.”
