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Toronto police find more human remains near property where alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur worked

It’s unclear whether the remains belong to one of McArthur’s eight alleged victims or someone new.

The Toronto Police announced on Thursday the discovery of more human remains near a property in a northeast neighbourhood of the city where alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur worked as a landscaper.

Police and canine units had resumed digging in and around the Mallory Crescent residence, and the ravine located behind it, on Wednesday. The remains of seven of McArthur’s eight alleged victims had already been found in garden planters seized from the property earlier this year.

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The newly uncovered remains haven’t been identified yet, and have been sent to the Ontario coroner for testing to determine to whom they belong — and whether they belong to one of McArthur’s eight alleged victims, or possibly a new one, Homicide Detective Hank Idsinga told reporters outside the home on Thursday morning.

“Excavation continues and we anticipate being here at least until next week,” said Idsinga, inviting news cameras to accompany police down to the ravine “to get footage of what’s going on there.”

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He added it was the first time that remains discovered near the property were not located inside planters. Police have conducted searches at nearly 100 properties in the Greater Toronto Area as part of their investigation, but found nothing.

“We have to rely on identifying those remains first,” he continued. “Whether they are remains of somebody else who hasn’t been identified yet. We have a lot of work to do.”

Earlier this year at that property, police discovered the remains of Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Dean Lisowick, Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam and Abdulbasir Faizi. Remains belonging to the eighth victim, Majeed’s Kayhan, have yet to be found.

Most of these men had some tie to Toronto’s Gay Village.

While the police continue to comb through decades of cold murder cases for any links to McArthur, Idsinga said they have not made any such connections so far.

The Toronto Police have been slammed for dismissing long-held concerns among the LGBTQ+ community that a serial killer was targeting gay men in the city.

Cover image: Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press