Toronto police have identified the deceased man believed to be a victim of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur. In a rare move last month, Toronto police investigators released an image of a deceased man they believe was a victim of McArthur, who is currently facing seven counts of first-degree murder.The image had been released as a last resort, in the hope that the public may help in identifying the dead man. “We are very happy and relieved that we’ve been able to identify him,” Toronto police Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga, the lead detective on the case, told the Star on Friday. More information about the man’s name and possible additional charges will be released pending notification of the man’s family, police said.Since McArthur’s January arrest, the 66-year-old landscaper has been charged in the deaths of seven men with links to Toronto’s Gay Village. He is currently awaiting trial for first-degree murder in the deaths of: Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 59; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40, and Abdulbasir Faizi, 42.Police have launched an extensive and ongoing investigation to locate McArthur’s victims. This week, Idsinga announced police would search as many as 75 properties linked to the alleged killer.Idsinga also revealed that the investigation now includes 15 cold cases — unsolved murders with links to Toronto’s Gay Village as dated as 1975 and as recent as 1997. More to come.
|
