On the morning of April 9th, 2005, the body of forty-four-year-old Sherri Lee Hiltz was found in a vacant lot in the 800 block of Surrey Avenue on the North Shore of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. She had been last seen the previous evening on Tranquille Road, a bustling area in the city.
Hiltz suffered fatal blunt-force trauma to the head, and her body was discovered fully clothed, though her skirt was hiked up above her waist—a detail that raised questions about the nature of the attack.
Little is publicly known about Hiltz’s personal life, but reports from the time indicate she was involved in the sex trade, a factor that has been highlighted in discussions of her case. This connection placed her among a vulnerable population in Kamloops, where similar tragedies had occurred in recent years. Her identification was confirmed through fingerprints.
The Kamloops RCMP launched an immediate investigation into Hiltz’s murder, but leads were scarce from the outset. No weapons were publicly reported at the scene, and the motive remains unclear—though speculation has ranged from a random act of violence to something more targeted. Over the years, police have followed up on tips and re-examined evidence, but the perpetrator has never been identified.
In 2015, on the 10th anniversary of the murder, the RCMP issued a public appeal for information, emphasizing that the case was far from closed. But despite advances in forensic technology, such as DNA analysis, no breakthroughs have been reported. The lack of witnesses and the passage of time have compounded the difficulties, turning what was once a high-profile case into a cold file.
Hiltz’s murder did not occur in isolation. It was initially speculated to be linked to other unsolved homicides in Kamloops involving women in the sex trade. In 2003, Heather Hamill was killed, and her common-law husband, Robert Balbar, was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009. However, Balbar was ruled out as a suspect in Hiltz’s case, as well as the 2004 murder of Shana Labatte.
Broader connections were explored, including potential ties to a series of murders of sex workers in Edmonton, Alberta, announced by authorities in 2005. Suspects such as Thomas Svekla, convicted in 2008 for a murder in Edmonton, and Davey Mato Butorac, charged with killings in the Lower Mainland, were investigated but ultimately cleared of involvement in the Kamloops cases. These speculations highlighted fears of a serial killer targeting vulnerable women, but no concrete links were established.
Hiltz’s case has also been referenced in discussions of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), though her specific Indigenous status is not detailed in available reports.
As of 2025, the murder of Sherri Lee Hiltz remains unsolved, with no new public developments since the 2015 appeals.
Crime Immemorial 