Police Still Hunt Pickering Casino Killer Who Taunts With Music Videos
Posted on: December 15, 2025, 04:23h.
Last updated on: December 15, 2025, 04:33h.
- Police offer $25K reward for info on the casino guard’s killer.
- Suspect Tyjae Nosworthy-Smith has been on the run since Oct. 2023.
- Ferdinand’s wife appeals for community help in tracking down suspect.
Police are still hunting the suspect in the 2023 killing of a security guard at Ontario’s Pickering Casino Resort.
Michael Ferdinand, 34, was shot dead while working at the casino in the early hours of October 9, 2023. Ferdinand had only been working at the casino for seven months before his death.
The suspect, identified by investigators on November 7 that year as Tyjae Nosworthy-Smith, has been on the run ever since.
Durham Regional Police said at a news conference Monday there was now a $25K award for information leading to the arrest of the suspect, who is also a rapper known as Baby2 and has posted music on social media while a fugitive.
“Get counsel. Turn yourself in,” Det.-Sgt. Erik Mamers said. “There’s a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest for the charge of second-degree murder, and he’s considered to be armed and dangerous.”
‘Behind the Timeline’
Nosworthy Smith, who was 17 at the time of the killing, is described as a Black man, 5 foot, 8 inches, and 110 pounds, with a tattoo on his left elbow. He is believed to have ties to the Driftwood community, the Jane and Finch area and Brampton, Ont., police said.
An image of Nosworthy Smith was released temporarily at the news conference. Under Canadia’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, a suspect who is under 18 at the time of the offense cannot legally be identified without judicial authorization. The image can only be shared by police for five days.
Mamers said his department was aware of the videos the suspect had been posting online since the incident and that it was “taking steps with judicial authorizations to try to track him down.”
“Unfortunately, once a video is posted, we are behind the timeline on where he is at that point,” Mammers said. “He does have a very active social media.”
‘Need for Truth’
Ferdinand’s wife, Mara, made a direct appeal to the public to help track down her husband’s killer.
“We, Mike’s family, are appealing to those who are protecting Tyjae to remember that my husband lost his life. Our family is living with a loss that cannot be repaired and we’re asking for the community’s help not out of anger but out of a need for truth and accountability.”
“Mike loved Christmas… This will be our third Christmas without Mike and there has been no justice,” she said.
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