40-year-old April Dobson was sitting on the front porch of a friend's home at 300 Browning Trail on October 14, 2025, when she was shot and killed.
Barrie police have said that on the night of her murder, Dobson had finished her shift at Swiss Chalet in the city's south end and then travelled to a co-worker's home on Browning Trail to help work on her colleague's car.
Investigators said two women and a female roommate were sitting on a front porch having Thanksgiving leftovers and drinking some wine when a shot was fired, and Dobson, who had her back to the street, was struck in the head with a bullet.
Moments later, a witness noticed a young man running eastbound from the area, getting on a mountain-style bicycle and riding southward on the catwalk leading from Browning Trail to Bronte Crescent.
At the time, police said they believed the person of interest was familiar with the area or lived in the neighbourhood.
Investigators believe someone in the community is the key to solving this case.
A $50,000 reward announced in September 2013 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Dobson's murder still stands.
More information about the investigation is available at: Â https://www.barriepolice.ca/newsroom/homicide-investigations/
