The Murder of Rhoderie Estrada

ONTARIO

A dedicated nurse. A devoted mother of three.
A family home that should have been the safest place in the world.

In 2018, Gerald Aquintey arrives home late to find his Toronto house in disarray. The respected Filipino chef and restaurant co-owner runs upstairs to discover his beloved wife, Rhoderie Estrada, has been brutally murdered. Rhoderie was loved by all who knew her. She'd built a life centred on family, community and caring for others. 

As investigators race to find the person responsible, the painstaking work of forensic specialists becomes the key to solving a heartbreaking crime that might otherwise have remained a mystery.

Special thanks to Gerald Aquintey and family.

Thanks also to Detective Constable Adrian Piccolo with the Toronto Police’s Forensic Identification Services Unit, Constable Don Laurel, and the Ontario Forensic Investigators Association.

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More information:

WATCH Crime Beat: Awaking To a Nightmare — The Rhoderie Estrada Murder

VISIT TINUNO Restaurant in Toronto


Canadian True Crime donates monthly to those facing injustice.
This month we have donated to Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime.

Credits: 

Disclaimer voiced by Erik Krosby
Senior producer: Lindsay Eldridge
Research, writing, narration, sound design: Kristi Lee

Music credits:

Theme song: by We Talk of Dreams
All music by Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound

Sources:

Conversations with Gerald Aquintey

Court documents:

• R. v. Beak, 2025 ONCA 506 (CanLII) (appeal of conviction 2025)

• Murillo v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2019 CanLII 108934 (CA IRB)  (Yostin Murillo deportation appeal 2019)

Journalism / News archives:

• Collection of articles by Global News (reporting by Catherine McDonald)

• Collection of articles by Toronto Star (reporting by Alyshah Harsham and Betsey Powell)

• Collection of articles by CityNews

• Collection of articles by CTVNews

• Crime Beat: Awaking To a Nightmare - The Rhoderie Estrada Murder on YouTube (Global News)

• Toronto police looking for missing 20-year-old man | Durham Radio News (David Beak missing)

• WARMINGTON: Who entered home and killed mom of three? | Toronto Sun

Police files:

Select case files provided by Toronto Police’s Forensic Identification Services unit with family’s consent

Arrest press conference: @TorontoPolice News Conference Re: Homicide #33/2018 | Sunday, June 3rd | 6pm

Family history, restaurants, Filipino culture:

• Rhoderie Estrada — Irish Mae Silvestre | Journalist (The Philippine Reporter)

• Man charged in murder of Pinay in Toronto | ABS-CBN

• Life with no parole for 22 years for intruders who killed mom of three | Canadian National Multimedia Newsgroup

• Woman murdered in her home Saturday remembered as a 'lovely mother'

• https://atinito.com/website/Home/About  (Rhoderie’s family business)

• Rhoderie Estrada obituary (memorial comments) 

• Fundraiser for Israela Aquintey by Mhea Filomeno : Rhoderie’s Memorial Fund

• Filipino Professor Reveals the Genius of the Filipino | Culture Bearer 01 (Kapwa)

• Restaurants: Toronto’s Tinuno impresses blogger

• Boodle Fights are the new style - Excalibur

• First look: Inside Tinuno’s return, the Kamayan classic that helped put Filipino food on Toronto’s map

Murillo aftermath:

• A ‘nightmare’ Toronto murder trial is over. What comes next highlights one of the most difficult questions facing Canada’s prisons

• Statistics Canada: Police-reported gender-related homicides of women and girls in Canada, 2011 to 2021Transfers of trans prisoners in Canada have fallen. An upcoming case will test gender policies | National Post

• Examination of gender diverse offenders (Government of Canada, 2022)

• Case Management for Gender Diverse Offenders: What We Know (Government of Canada, 2024)

• Gender Diverse Offenders: Examining Institutional Incidents (Government of Canada, 2024)