Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the 2008 murder of Yuan (Tracy) Tian.

Homicide Det. Sgt. Frank Skubic announced the reward at police headquarters on Thursday, asking for the public's help in solving what he called a "heinous crime."

"If you have your own suspicions, theories or you suspect any specific person of being responsible for Tracy's murder, please come forward," Skubic said.

The 31-year-old was found by her boyfriend, bound and stabbed to death in her apartment on Sept. 2, 2008.

At the time of the slaying, Skubic said there were no signs of forced entry or robbery at the scene, which he described as "horrific".

Tian had been looking for a new roommate to share the rent on her fourth-floor, two-bedroom apartment at 75 Talara Dr., near Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East.

She advertised the extra room in an ad on a Chinese-language website, and several women and men answered the ad shortly before she was killed. According to Skubic, her brother had been renting the room, but had moved out earlier in the summer for a job in the United States.

Tian came to Canada from China in 2005 to further her education. She attended the University of Windsor and then the University of Guelph, where she completed her Master's thesis.

Police ask anyone with any information to contact Det. Sgt. Skubic directly at (416) 808-7399.