After 10 years, the case of murdered Standardbred horseman Randy Rankin has made its way back into mainstream headlines. Now, just a few weeks later, another Rankin story has hit the mainstream, and it contains a small tidbit of information that is making people look at the murder in a brand new light.
Andrew Duffy of the Ottawa Citizen has penned an article that profiles Rankin’s involvement in the harness racing industry.
During his time in racing, Rankin let his opinions be well known via online industry forums. Randy’s brother, 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 planning on divulging some sensitive racing information to the media.
Rankin, 47, was killed in the basement of his Morewood, Ont. home during the early-morning hours of February 12, 2007. The horseman 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.
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.
Duffy’s article concludes with two paragraphs that brings the murder of Rankin into a brand new light: Was he the victim of a serial killer?
Duffy’s article states that, ‘in the spring of 2014, a badly decomposed body was found in a Morewood ditch. It was just down the road from the bungalow where Rankin had been killed, and its discovery would raise a number of searing questions.
‘Among them: Was Randy Rankin the victim of a serial killer?’
To read Duffy’s Ottawa Citizen story, click here.
(With files from the Ottawa Citizen)