Lisa GAVIN – Case Overview

When Sharon Tuerling spotted her foster sister, Lisa Gavin, at the corner of Main and Hastings on August 12, 1988, she had no way of knowing it would be the last time she would see her alive. It was 11:00 p.m., and Sharon was in a car with her fiancé. They drove around the block, but when they returned, Lisa was gone.

About 45 minutes later, Lisa left a friend’s apartment near East Broadway and St Catherine’s Street to go to work, and said she would be back within the hour to purchase cocaine. Lisa, a sex worker, struggled with addiction, which had begun in her early teens.

At 6:50 the following morning, Lisa’s partially clothed body was found by a resident in a lane near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue. She was wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt with lace on the sleeves and on the bottom hem of the shirt. The front of the shirt had the words “Gerry’s Country Inn, Calgary” in blue.

Lisa was 5’2″ tall and weighed 123 pounds. She had brown hair with bleached tips and hazel eyes. She was only 21 years old when she was murdered. Sadly, just one month later, her close friend, Glenna Sowan, was also murdered.

For the first nine years of her life, Lisa lived with a loving foster family, which still mourns their loss. Investigators believe someone has information about Lisa’s murder. Help us catch a killer.

This is an ongoing file. Please check back regularly for updates.