"Items of interest" found at Toronto property linked to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur

Toronto police have reportedly removed "items of interest" from a property where alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur buried the remains of seven men.

On Wednesday, Toronto police returned to the home on Mallory Crescent, where McArthur is alleged to have done landscaping work and where police dogs indicated that more excavation was needed. The dogs found nothing at another 100 properties that were also related to his landscaping business, according to police.

On previous searches, police excavated areas of the Mallory Crescent backyard and seized planters, in which they allege they found the human remains. In February, police said they weren’t able to search parts of the property because the ground was still frozen.

McArthur, who was arrested in January, is currently facing eight counts of first degree murder in connection with the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, Abdulbasir Faizi, Skandaraj Navaratnam and Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam. Most of the men had connections to Toronto’s gay village.

The case has raised concerns about how police responded to the disappearances of a number of men in the village, and accusations that they ignored fears in the community that a serial killer was on the prowl.

It has also prompted Toronto police to embark on a review of how they handle missing persons cases and the families of victims are calling for a public inquiry into the entire investigation.

Cover image: Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail