Police release dead man’s photo in McArthur probe

Investigators working on the case of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur released a photo of a dead man Monday, a rare move Toronto police hope will help identify someone they believe to be another victim of the 66-yearold landscaper facing six murder charges.

The photo — a headshot of a bearded middle-aged man with his eyes partially shut — was released at a news conference where the lead detective announced police had found the remains of a seventh individual linked to McArthur.

Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said investigators believe the man was dead when the picture was taken, but refused to say when or how they obtained the photograph.

“I do not want to release this picture and am doing so as a last resort,” said Idsinga. “It’s obviously a key piece of evidence that we have that we are releasing, but we do feel that by releasing we will identify him and close off that area of investigation.”

Idsinga said the photo was released after police exhausted all other avenues to identify the man.

“I would also ask the media to be mindful that by broadcasting this picture a family member or friend not realizing that their loved one is deceased may come to that realization the moment they view that picture ... we need to put a name to his face and bring closure to this man’s loved ones.” All six men allegedly killed by McArthur had disappeared from Toronto’s gay village or had ties to the city’s LGBTQ community.

Idsinga said the latest unidentified remains were recovered from a planter at a Toronto property where McArthur worked as a landscaper and where the remains of the six alleged victims had been found.

Investigators didn’t initially realize they had seven sets of remains in their possession, he said.

“I can’t really get into specifics about why we didn’t realize there were seven remains there, but we had the planters several weeks ago,” Idsinga said.