Christine Demeter

{{Short description|Canadian model (1940–1973)}}

Christine Demeter ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|m|ə|t|ər}}; 1940 – July 18, 1973) was murdered in the garage of her home in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 33. The case attracted much attention in Canada because Demeter, a model, was considered to be young and beautiful, and her murder had been mysterious.{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10483485/peter-christine-demeter-death-crime-beat/|title=A look at the twisted crimes of Peter Demeter, one of Canada's worst criminals|publisher=Global News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/demeter-murder-daughter-ptsd-1.4138214|title=Daughter of notorious wife-killer Peter Demeter says 'twisted' childhood caused PTSD|publisher=CBC News}}

The case was investigated by Detective William Teggart (who would later rise to police chief) of the Peel Regional Police.{{Cite web |url=https://www.peelpolice.ca/en/aboutus/chiefteggart.asp |title=Chief Teggart - Peel Regional Police |access-date=2018-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202014900/https://www.peelpolice.ca/en/aboutus/chiefteggart.asp |archive-date=2018-02-02 |url-status=dead }} Demeter's husband, Peter Demeter, was subsequently convicted, seventeen months after the killing,{{cite news |title=Canada's most notorious murder case happened in Mississauga in the 1970s |last=Newport |first=Ashley |date=2022-10-02 |website=insauga.com |url=https://www.insauga.com/canadas-most-notorious-murder-case-happened-in-mississauga-in-the-1970s/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302102836/https://www.insauga.com/canadas-most-notorious-murder-case-happened-in-mississauga-in-the-1970s/ |archive-date=2024-03-02 |url-status=live}} of hiring a killer to murder her to cash in on a million-dollar insurance policy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. He later received a second life sentence for unrelated criminal acts; as of May 31, 2010, then 77 years old, he was still in prison in Ontario.

George Jonas and his then-wife Barbara Amiel, published a book about the case, By Persons Unknown: The Strange Death of Christine Demeter (1976).

The Demeter case served as the basis for the fictional 1978 film I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses, directed by Murray Markowitz. The victim is renamed Magdalene Kruschen and is played by German actress Elke Sommer.