More murder charges
TORONTO POLICE SAY ALLEGED SERIAL KILLER BURIED VICTIMS’ REMAINS IN PLANTER BOXES
Aself-employed landscaper now facing five counts of first-degree murder dismembered some of his male victims and buried their remains at the bottom of large planter boxes, Toronto police alleged Monday, calling him a serial killer.
Investigators warned that more victims may yet be identified in what they called an unprecedented case in Canada’s largest city.
Speaking at a news conference, Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said officers had found dismembered skeletal remains belonging to at least three people in planter boxes at a home linked to Bruce McArthur, already charged earlier this month with killing two men who had disappeared from the city’s gay village.
“We do believe there are more (victims). I have no idea how many more there are going to be,” Idsinga said. “We’re investigating some 30 properties. We believe there are more remains at some of these properties that we’re working to recover.”
Forensic experts have yet to identify the remains, Idsinga said.
McArthur, 66, was arrested and charged Jan. 18 in the presumed deaths of Selim Esen, 44, and 49-year-old Andrew Kinsman. He was further charged on Monday in the deaths of two missing men — Majeed Kayhan, 58, and Soroush Mahmudi, 50 — as well as Dean Lisowick, 47, who had never been reported missing.
Mahmudi and Lisowick did not fit the profile of some of the other missing men — Middle Eastern men known to frequent Toronto’s gay village area.
“We know that many in the community are struggling to understand and process these developments,” Idsinga said. “(But the investigation) certainly encompasses more than the gay community. It encompasses the city of Toronto.”
Police had said McArthur had a long-term sexual relationship with Kinsman, but Idsinga refused to discuss what if any relationship he might have had with the other victims.
Police had initially shut down persistent rumours that a serial killer was prowling the gay village, stressing that as recently as December, they did not know whether Esen’s and Kinsman’s disappearances were linked or if the men were still alive.
“Obviously, the city of Toronto has never seen anything like this. I’d call it an unprecedented type of investigation,” Idsinga said. “It’s an alleged serial killer. He’s taken some steps to cover his tracks and we have to uncover these victims and identify these victims.”
Investigators were scouring properties in the city where McArthur worked as a landscaper. They said they were planning to excavate at two locations “where people might be buried,” but said they did not know what, if anything, they might find.