Spouse charged in body parts case

Tip from public led to arrest Torso, leg found in 2 locations

Police have identified the woman whose body parts were found in two locations last month, and her common- law husband has been charged with second- degree murder.

Police would not reveal the identity of the woman or the accused, saying they have not notified the victim’s next of kin, who live outside Toronto. The accused, 50, was arrested in his Parkdale home yesterday afternoon after a tip from the public. “The Toronto Police Service and the homicide squad are extremely pleased that this is over, and that in our minds the deceased has a name and identity,” said Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux in a hastily called news conference at 14 Division station last night. The victim was in her late 40s and from outside of Toronto. Giroux said the person who notified police yesterday afternoon is not a relative and lives in Parkdale. The woman’s leg was found by acity employee at the Bermondsey Transfer Station in North York on Nov. 11.

Thirteen hours later, a resident on Elm Grove Ave., near Queen and Dufferin Sts. in Parkdale, found her dismembered torso in a laneway behind his house.

Tests determined the body parts belonged to the same victim. A special task force of police officers began going door to door in Parkdale two weeks ago, questioning residents and asking for permission to look around homes. The ethical questions raised by the search rankled the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.