Feb. 8 (UPI) — Toronto police announced Thursday they’ve recovered the remains of six people linked to an investigation into a landscaper they’re describing as a serial killer.
Investigators said they found the remains of all six people in planters on a property where Bruce McArthur, 66, provided landscaping services.
Last month, police charged McArthur with five counts of first-degree murder. The number of counts is likely to increase after the discovery of more remains, Detective Sgt. Hank Idsinga said during a news conference.
He said investigators seized 15 planters from the property, but “exactly where we are on the examination of those planters, I’m not ready to say yet.”
Police initially arrested McArthur in early January for the slayings of Selim Esen, 44, who went missing in April, and Andrew Kinsman, 49, who went missing in June.
During the investigation, police said they found the dismembered remains of at least three other people last month. The sixth was announced as part of Thursday’s news conference.
Idsinga said DNA tests confirmed Kinsman’s remains were among those found in the planters.
More tests were pending, but police charged McArthur for the deaths of Kinsman; Esen; Majeed Kayhan, 58, missing since 2012; Soroush Mahmudi, 50, reported missing in 2015; and Dean Lisowick, 47, a homeless man who hasn’t been reported missing but whom police believe may have died between May 2016 and July 2017.
Idsinga said investigators were preparing to excavate the yard of the residence where the planters were found.
The residence belongs to Karen Fraser and Ron Smith, who allegedly allowed McArthur to store landscaping equipment at their house in exchange for yard work services. Police told the two to leave their home Jan. 18 amid the investigation.
Idsinga said police were searching more than 30 properties tied to McArthur’s landscaping business.
“The [investigation] is getting bigger and we are getting more resources the further we go along, so it’s going to be a very, very extensive investigation,” he said.
