A Nightmare Ends a Family’s Happiness

An event in 2018 remains an unforgettable tragedy for all those who loved the Filipino nurse, Roder Estrada. In that year, Roder was devastatingly taken from them through an act of ultimate violence. Her body, lifeless and partially unclothed, was found inside her own master bedroom.

Just steps away from the scene of the horrific fatal assault, her three young daughters were sleeping soundly in their rooms. Who was the perpetrator responsible for this crime against Roder Estrada, and how did her family ultimately find justice?

Roder, affectionately known as Derry, was born on August 17, 1976, in Mabini, Pangasinan. Like many children of her time, Derry grew up to be a diligent and responsible young woman.

She pursued a nursing degree in college, where she met the man who captured her heart, Gerald Kenry. Gerald quickly fell in love with Derry. Beyond her natural beauty, he was drawn to her unique qualities: her strength, resilience, intelligence, and her clear ambition for the future.

After graduating, they chose to settle in Toronto, Canada, where they married and built their family. Derry was hired as a Staff Nurse at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, while Gerald co-owned a popular Filipino kamayan restaurant in the Upper Harbour area.

For years, they lived happily in Toronto, blessed with three daughters. Derry would leave home early in the morning for her shift, while Gerald stayed behind, tending to the children and dropping them off at school before heading to his restaurant.

Derry was usually the first to return home in the afternoon, picking up the children from their extracurricular activities before they returned home to await the arrival of the head of the household.

This happy family life was brutally cut short by a nightmare they would never forget.

The Scene of the Assault and the Evidence

It was shortly after 2:00 AM on May 26, 2018, when Toronto Police received a distress call to the 911 hotline. They immediately dispatched a team to a house on Torrance Avenue.

Upon arrival, they found a woman who was tragically deceased. Emergency responders attempted CPR and several life-saving measures, but it was too late. The victim was pronounced dead and was identified as 41-year-old Filipina, Roder Estrada.

Also present at the scene were her bereaved husband, Gerald Kenry, and their three daughters. Gerald recounted that Derry had returned home in the afternoon, picked up the children from their piano lesson, and they were home by 9:00 PM.

He had left the restaurant around 9:00 PM but did not go straight home due to an opening party at a relative’s restaurant in North York. He called his wife to inform her he would be late.

He said that when he last spoke to her, she was doing laundry and watching her favorite Korean soap opera. He instructed her to lock the doors and call him upon his arrival to let him in, as their door had an extra inner latch that required manual opening.

The party ran until the early morning, and he finally arrived home around 2:00 AM. As he parked his car, he immediately felt uneasy because all the lights in the house were mysteriously on—including those in the basement, living room, kitchen, and master bedroom.

He expected his wife and children to be sound asleep. He called his wife, but she didn’t answer, so he decided to approach the kitchen entrance.

He was horrified to find the kitchen door ajar and knocked slightly inward. He panicked, rushed upstairs to check on his daughters, and upon confirming they were safe, he ran to his master bedroom.

He called out to his wife, but received no answer. He found Derry covered by a blanket. When he pulled it back, he saw the horrific condition of his wife. He immediately called 911.

Gerald claimed he attempted CPR, but first had to remove several of her teeth that had been knocked loose in her mouth. This was the scene where police and the emergency team found him.

The eldest daughter later recounted that they had been happily chatting with their mother in the living room before saying goodnight and going to their rooms. They were awakened only by their father’s frantic screams and the subsequent arrival of the police.

The autopsy confirmed that the severe head trauma Derry sustained was the cause of her d34th. Additionally, she suffered grievous injuries to her face, a fractured jaw, and a broken nose. Defensive wounds on her arms indicated that the victim had fought back against her assailant(s). She was also a victim of sexual assault.

The Upside-Down Fingerprint

Investigators applied for a search warrant the same day—a legal requirement in Canada, even for the victim’s home. Upon receiving the warrant on May 27, 2018, they began their work.

Their attention was first drawn to the house’s basement. Gerald explained they were renovating the basement into an entertainment room, which was why the house was cluttered with items temporarily moved upstairs.

The basement had a small window for ventilation, which was left slightly open. They noticed the screen was completely removed and was found scattered in an alley between two buildings.

Investigators suspected this was the entry point for the perpetrators. Given the basement was under renovation, it was dirty and dusty. If the wrongdoers entered there, their footwear would likely be dirty.

Upon opening the main door, the house’s hardwood floors, though normally well-maintained, were surprisingly clean, which made the presence of scattered footprints throughout the house glaringly obvious.

These footprints provided a detailed path of the suspects’ movements: from the basement, up the stairs, through the kitchen and living room, upstairs to the children’s rooms, and finally, into the master bedroom where the fatal assault occurred.

Blood spatter found on the headboard, side table, and cabinets confirmed the extreme violence. At the foot of the bed, they found an 18-inch-long crowbar weighing over 2 pounds.

The construction workers confirmed the crowbar did not belong to them, suggesting it was carried in by the suspects, likely as a tool for entry or a weapon.

Investigators collected DNA samples from the bedsheet and took 46 fingerprints from the house.

One print immediately caught their attention: a fingerprint found on the bottom edge of a sliding kitchen window—a place people don’t usually touch—and it was upside down.

This suggested the person who touched it was outside the window, hoisting themselves up to slide inside.

This unique fingerprint was rushed for analysis against biometric databases.

The Arrest of the Assailants

The analysis returned a name: Justin Murillo. Detective Sergeant Mike Carboni, the homicide detective assigned to the case, was immediately notified.

Luckily, the suspect, Justin Murillo, a Costa Rican native who had prior arrests for public disturbance and theft, was already in the custody of the South Detention Centre. He had been arrested on May 27, 2018, one day after the assault, for violating a previous agreement related to other cases.

The team immediately went to the detention center to re-arrest Murillo on charges of first-degree act of ultimate violence. Murillo had a previous deportation order dating back to 2015 but had somehow managed to evade it repeatedly.

Two months before Derry’s de@th, Murillo was arrested for a public disturbance incident in Toronto involving a crowbar used to assault three people, one of whom was severely injured.

He was released two days later on a $500 bail, under the condition he not possess any deadly weapons. Two days after that, he was re-arrested for harassing a security guard but was again released.

During his arrest, police confiscated several cellphones from Murillo, some stained with blood. When investigators called the numbers of cellphones missing from the victim’s house, Murillo’s confiscated phones began to ring one by one.

Investigators also collected Murillo’s clothing and his sandals for forensic examination. They used a technique called “subtraction” on the footprints found at the scene, and the results were a definitive match: the footprints at the crime scene belonged 100% to Justin Murillo.

The Second Perpetrator: David Beck

Despite overwhelming evidence, the 22-year-old Murillo remained silent.

However, the investigation did not stop there, as police were certain there was a second wrongdoer. DNA and fingerprints at the scene did not match Murillo, indicating another person was present during the fatal assault.

Police found CCTV footage showing Murillo meeting his girlfriend at a fast-food chain, where he gave her a stolen bag. His girlfriend told investigators that Murillo was accompanied by another man named Beck during his thefts.

Police located David Beck at a homeless shelter near Torrance Avenue. Beck initially denied any involvement. Investigators secured a DNA sample from a discarded cigarette butt thrown by Beck while under surveillance.

While the DNA was being analyzed, police obtained footage from a nearby grocery store showing Murillo and Beck together hours after the assault, walking away from the crime scene. The DNA analysis confirmed it: the DNA found on the victim’s body was a positive match for David Beck.

The second assailant, David Beck, was immediately arrested.

The Courtroom Confessions

Both wrongdoers pleaded not guilty to first-degree fatal assault and r*pe charges. Murillo took the stand first, tearing up as he recounted the events.

He claimed that after using drugs, they drank stolen wine before going to a garage for theft. He and Beck happened upon the Estrada house, noticed the basement light was on but no car was parked, and assumed it was under renovation and empty.

He broke the basement window screen and entered, followed by Beck. After stealing a laptop and bags, they went upstairs. In the master bedroom, they found Roder Estrada sleeping. As they were about to leave, Derry cried out, “Oh no!”

Murillo claimed he panicked and immediately struck her with the crowbar he was carrying. He hit her three times in the face and head. When she started making noise, he repeatedly struck her until she was unconscious. He panicked and asked Beck what he had done, then fled the room.

He realized he had left the crowbar inside and returned. Upon re-entering, he noticed the victim’s lower clothing had been removed.

He covered her with a blanket, searched for the crowbar but couldn’t find it, and left. He met Beck at a coffee shop where they drank more alcohol. When he asked Beck why the victim was unclothed, Beck admitted he had sexually assaulted the victim.

When David Beck took the stand, he denied any involvement in the act of ultimate violence, but admitted to sexually assaulting the victim.

He claimed she was already deceased when he assaulted her. The defense argued that no sexual assault occurred since she was already deceased, but the prosecution insisted she was still alive during the assault and was killed when she resisted.

Both individuals responsible for the fatal outcome were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

A Legacy of Service

Roder was laid to rest on June 2, 2018, in Toronto. Her family and friends remembered her as a cheerful, kind, loving mother, wife, daughter, and devoted nurse to her patients. In her honor, a plaque was placed inside St. Joseph’s Health Centre.

Her eldest daughter pursued a law degree, specializing in Criminal Law, while her second daughter decided to study medicine, carrying on their mother’s legacy of service. Her husband, Gerald, remained strong for their three daughters.

Roder’s life was tragically taken, but her family found strength in continuing her spirit of compassion and service, ensuring her memory lives on through their determination to seek justice and help others.