‘Toronto serial killer’ investigators find no new remains in yard tied to suspect
No additional human remains have been found in the backyard of a house where body parts were discovered in planters, Toronto police have said - but the hunt for more victims of a suspected serial killer continues.
Police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said that investigators had finished their excavation at the home that suspect Bruce McArthur had used to store items for his landscaping business.
“We did not locate any additional remains,” Gray said.
Gray said police will now focus on looking through planters found at that property and elsewhere around the city.
McArthur has been charged with the murders of five men, all connected with the city’s Gay Village district. Police say they expect to file more charges.
“We still have properties that we are searching, that long client list of Mr McArthur’s that we are making our way through,” Gray said.
Authorities have checked at least 30 other places the landscaper was known to have worked, including some of Toronto’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, and have collected at least 15 planters.
Police say they are thinking of excavating a second property in Toronto but have not yet made a decision on that.
Investigators say the 66-year-old McArthur is believed to have met his victims in Toronto’s Gay Village and on gay dating apps for older and large men with names such as “SilverDaddies” and “Bear411.”
In his SilverDaddies profile, McArthur described himself as 5 feet 10 inches tall and 221 pounds and primarily interested in younger men. On his Facebook page, he posted pictures of his cats, children and grandchildren and of himself dressed as Santa Claus.
Edward Royle, a lawyer for McArthur, has declined to comment on the case, which is due back in court on Wednesday. McArthur has yet to enter a plea.
McArthur was arrested January 18 and charged with two counts of murder in connection with the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, 49, and Selim Esen, 44, who were last seen in the Gay Village.
Not long after that, he was charged with the murders of three more men: 58-year-old Majeed Kayhan, who went missing in 2012, 50-year-old Soroush Marmudi, who went missing in 2015, and Dean Lisowick, who went missing between May 2016 and July 2017.
Police said they will eventually look at hundreds of missing person cases and try to determine if they were victims of McArthur. They are also running down tips that have come in from around the world.
