Dig ends at home linked to McArthur
Human remains found daily at property where alleged serial killer was landscaper
After finding human remains almost every day of the dig, Toronto police have completed a meticulous excavation behind a Leaside home linked to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Earlier this month, a team of more than 20 investigators began combing through a steep, forested ravine behind the home on Mallory Cres., a location that’s become a key site in the largest forensic investigation in Toronto police history. That probe has only grown since July 5, when investigators uncovered human remains just hours into the first day of the search.
Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga, the lead homicide detective on the case, said human remains were found virtually every day, though he stressed that could include something as small as, for example, a bone fragment or tooth.
“We essentially recovered different parts every day that we were digging there,” Idsinga told the Star Monday.
Investigators determined where to dig — or dig deeper — using a combination of excavation and canine-assisted searches. Spots where dogs indicated there could be human remains were searched first by a team including police and a forensic anthropologist, who sifted through countless buckets of soil.
Police regularly brought in the dogs, and watched which areas they responded to, then continued to excavate. The process was repeated until investigators determined the soil within the ravine, which they had described as a large compost pile, had been sufficiently searched.
“At the end of the day, I’m pretty confident that we’ve done about as thorough a search as we can possibly do, and hopefully nothing else turns up there in the future,” Idsinga said.
The excavation’s conclusion marks the completion of searches at the home where McArthur worked for years as a landscaper. But the discoveries of human remains have opened up another phase of the months-long investigation, requiring more forensic testing that could create new avenues of inquiry.
McArthur, 66, is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of men with links to Toronto’s Gay Village, which are alleged to have occurred between 2010 and 2017. The remains of seven men were found earlier this year, buried in large planters located on the same Mallory Cres. property.
The remains of the eighth victim, Majeed Kayhan, have not been located. Idsinga previously said the remains discovered this month could be linked to Kayhan or the other seven men.
They also may be those of a ninth, previously unknown vic- tim. Idsinga said he doesn’t believe that to be the case, but would not provide any further details.
Identification can be done through fingerprints, dental records or DNA, with each process taking progressively longer. Depending on which route is taken, results could come back as early as this week or within the next few months.
Forensic testing is also continuing in cold cases that police are currently reviewing, to determine whether there are any links to McArthur.
Police have searched nearly 100 properties linked to McArthur through his landscaping business, but human remains have only been found at Mallory Cres.
More tips have been generated since the latest excavation began, creating more leads for investigators to follow and that could mean further searches of other properties, Idsinga said.
McArthur is charged in the deaths of Kayhan, Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam. McArthur is due in court later this month.