The man in a photo released last month by Toronto police as an alleged victim of accused serial killer Bruce McArthur has been identified.McArthur appeared in court Monday, charged with first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam from Scarborough. Kanagaratnam was believed to be killed sometime between Sept. 3 and Dec. 14, 2015.Kanagaratnam came to Canada in 2010 from Sri Lanka, and hadn’t been reported missing, Det-Sgt. Hank Idsinga told reporters Monday morning. Kanagaratnam didn’t have a known connection to Toronto’s Gay Village, Idsinga said.He was identified with the help of an international government agency, Idsinga said, declining to elaborate.Kanagaratnam had distant relatives in the GTA, Idsinga said.McArthur, a 66-year-old landscaper, now faces eight first-degree murder charges. As part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged serial killer, police made the extraordinary move last month to release an image of a deceased man, with the aim to identify him. More than 500 tips poured in, leading to 70 possible identities. Idsinga said Monday that Kanagaratnam’s name didn’t come up until after last week’s police news conference with an updated photo of the victim.“We are very happy and relieved that we’ve been able to identify him,” Idsinga told the Star last week.Police held back the deceased man’s identity Friday, saying they needed to get in touch with his family, and said any information about possible new charges will be released today.He was already charged 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.MORE TO COMEWendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca With files from Vjosa Isai and Alexandra JonesRead more:10 questions about the Bruce McArthur investigationKey dates in the investigation into alleged serial k ...
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