Toronto police say they’ve received dozens of tips since releasing a photo of a dead man believed to be a victim of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Investigators put out the photo on Monday, saying they were taking the rare step in hopes someone could help identify the person.
Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said investigators are sifting through information they’ve received, but added that identifying the man could take weeks.
“Short of a direct family member calling and saying ‘that’s so-and-so,’ we have to sort through the tips and use the process of elimination,” he told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. “Eventually we would pursue ‘possibles’ and hope that DNA or dental records would match up with found remains.”
Police have said the man was dead when the picture was taken, but won’t say when or how they obtained the image.
The head shot of a bearded middle-aged man with his eyes partially shut was released as police announced finding the remains of a seventh individual linked to McArthur.
READ MORE: Timeline of events in Bruce McArthur suspected serial killings case
The 66-year-old landscaper is currently facing six first-degree murder charges in relation to men who disappeared from Toronto’s gay village or had ties to the city’s LGBTQ community.
The investigation, which police have described as unprecedented in scope, has proceeded on multiple fronts, with investigators gathering evidence, searching multiple properties and examining hundreds of missing persons cases in search of potential links to McArthur.
McArthur was arrested in January and charged with the murders of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen, who went missing from Toronto’s gay village in 2017.
READ MORE: Police release photo of body of man linked to alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur
Later that month, McArthur was charged with the first-degree murder of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, and Dean Lisowick. In February, he was also charged in the death of Skandaraj Navaratnam.
Idsinga has said there was evidence pointing to a cause of death in at least some of the cases, but wouldn’t elaborate.
Police have found seven sets of remains in planters recovered from a Toronto property where McArthur worked as a landscaper. So far, police have only identified three of the sets of remains recovered – those of Kinsman, 49, Mahmudi, 50, and Navaratnam, 40.
McArthur’s next court hearing is set for March 14.
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