Police to wrap up search for alleged Torontio serial killer victims at Leaside home
Backyard excavation reveals no more bodies at home where remains of six people were found in
large planter pots.
No human remains have been found buried in the backyard of a Leaside home where the remains of at least six individuals were discovered in planter pots, Toronto police said Tuesday.
“That’s not to say we’re not going to revisit it when the weather’s a bit warmer,” lead investigator Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga told the Star. Police were also finishing a dig into the main drain in the front yard on Tuesday.
A garage at the house, which is owned by Karen Fraser and Ron Smith, was used by accused killer Bruce McArthur to store his landscaping equipment.
McArthur, 66, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick. Police have described the deaths as the work of a serial killer.
Last week, police confirmed that Kinsman’s remains were among those of at least six people recovered from planter pots they say McArthur placed in the yard. They have not said if they have identified any of the other remains.
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Investigators have cordoned off the yard since Jan. 18, when McArthur was arrested on the first two murder charges. A green tent was set up outside and heaters were brought in so investigators could thaw out and probe the frozen ground which was also scanned with ground penetrating radar. Constant police presence cast an eerie atmosphere over the quiet street for weeks.
Idsinga declined on Tuesday to disclose how police identified what he called the “very specific area” they were searching beneath the tent. Originally, he had estimated the excavation could take police up to a week and a half.
“We hope to dig down, until we can’t dig anymore, which may be a matter of inches,” Idsinga said last week. “And then we may have to leave it for another day or two, let it thaw some more and then continue digging.”
But speaking to the Star Tuesday, Idsinga said that timeline was sped up when Dr. Kathy Gruspier – the first and only fulltime forensic anthropologist in Canada, who oversaw the excavation – didn’t find any sign of previous digging.
“You’d focus on if you found a spot that looked like it’d been excavated before,” he said. “Then keep digging in that spot until you get to a reasonable depth. We never found anything that would indicate that.”
If they found something in the specific area they’d identified under the tent, it could take over a week to excavate and sift the earth properly.
“If we do go back there when the weather is warmer, we’ll probably take some more time checking some of the other areas,” he said. “And we could be in the same boat. We find another area that we’re interested in, we start digging. We could be done in 24 hours, or if we start finding stuff, it could take a lot longer.”
Bruce McArthur, 66, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star)
Police have identified another Toronto property they’re interested in searching. “But it really was dependent whether or not we found anything here,” Idsinga said. “We’re going to wait for the weather to get a bit warmer, do some further forensic testing and decide whether we’re going to dig there or not.”
They have a few more tips to follow up on from individuals that believe they may have planters from McArthur in their possession, but not many. “It’s quieted down a little bit,” Idsinga said.
Meanwhile, the still-frosty weather has put a strain in particular on the police dogs working on the case. “With the dogs, they just don’t work that well when everything is frozen,” Idsinga said.
Investigators may revisit all the properties flagged in the investigation when the spring thaw hits, he told the Star.
“It depends what we find elsewhere, right?”
Idsinga has said repeatedly that police expect to lay more charges against McArthur. In the meantime, the Leaside backyard will be released back to the homeowners, though they’ve requested police keep tape around the yard.
“To keep you guys out,” Idsinga said, chuckling. “Those pesky reporters.” Read more
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