It has been 10 years since the murder of hobby horseman/racing enthusiast Randy Rankin rocked the southern Ontario Standardbred industry. Now, after a decade, the cold case has resurfaced in the mainstream media.
Rankin, 47, was killed in the basement of his Morewood, Ont. home during the early-morning hours of February 12, 2007. He was sitting in front of his computer at the time. The assailant, who was outside, shot Rankin through a window. Rankin was hit in the back of the head and passed away. The killer has never been caught.
"I figure after 10 years, it's time to get something woken up about it again," Gary Rankin, Randy’s brother, has told the CBC.
In addition to his participation in harness racing, Randy entertained children. He was a well-known clown – one that regularly brought children joy through his acts ‘Koo Koo the Clown’ and ‘Lunchbox Louie.’
Although his participation in Ontario harness racing wasn’t to the extent of others, Randy let his opinions be well known via online industry forums. Gary has alleged that his brother had received some threatening phone calls in the days before his death, as Randy had made it known that he was going to divulge some sensitive racing information online.
"I think he said something about he was going to go live about it or something … I know he was getting some threatening phone calls the night before, apparently," said Gary.
In 2009, the Ontario Provincial Police posted a $50,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest of Randy’s killer. Nothing ever came of it.
(With files from the CBC)