Winston Reid, father of slain teen Simone Reid, found dead

The mystery surrounding the murder of an 18-year-old girl deepened Thursday after police announced that her father's body was found earlier this week.

Winston Reid, 49, had been missing since the body of his daughter, Simone "Shanni" Reid, was discovered inside a Scarborough apartment building on Nov. 13.

Police said Winston Reid was not considered a suspect in that case but were trying to contact him.

Winston Reid's body and his vehicle were found in the Kennedy Road and Elgin Mills Road area in Markham on Tuesday, according to police. Reid was found without vital signs and pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of his death remains undetermined following a post-mortem examination, police said.

The slain girl's mother, Karlene Palmer, told CBC News on Thursday that a Toronto police detective called her on Wednesday night to tell her that Winston Reid's body had been found.

Palmer did not know any other details.

Palmer said she last spoke to Winston Reid the Thursday before their daughter died. The conversation was cordial, according to Palmer, who was hoping Reid would shed light on the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death.

"I need answers," Palmer told CBC News from her home in Jamaica. "I need to know what happened and her father was the only person who could give me the answers."

Investigators have not revealed how Simone Reid died, but did say they are treating her death as a homicide.

Palmer said she has not asked detectives for details about her daughter's death.

"I want to know, but not right at this moment," Palmer said. "Not right, right now. Not today, not tomorrow, it might be next week."

Palmer said she intends to bring her daughter's body to Jamaica for burial "as soon as possible." A family friend has set up an online fundraiser to help with those costs.

Meanwhile, anyone with information about the case is asked to contact police directly or Crime Stoppers anonymously.