Toronto police confirmed on Friday that human remains were found for a second straight day at a property linked to accused serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga, the lead investigator in the case, told reporters at a news conference on Friday that the remains were located on Thursday.
Police initially found remains at a ravine located adjacent to a backyard at 53 Mallory Crescent on Wednesday and said they have yet to be identified.
“It’s essentially in the same area,” Idsinga said.
“I can’t be too specific about exactly where they were and how they were found. But as you saw yesterday the officers are down there, they are digging through the area by hand. It’s a very slow process. It’s a very meticulous process.”
READ MORE: Police confirm more human remains found near Mallory Crescent property linked to Bruce McArthur
Investigators said Thursday the dig operation is centralized on a compost pile on the side of the ravine.
“We continue to dig. We’re not going to be digging here on the weekend. We’re going to keep the site secure,” Idsinga said.
“Monday there is going to be a post-mortem on the remains that have been located so far and then we’ll be back here Tuesday to continue with the dig.”
VIDEO: Could take time to identify remains if linked to ‘new victim’, police say
McArthur, who has been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, worked as a landscaper and used the Mallory Crescent location to store tools and supplies.
Earlier this year, police located the remains of seven men from large planters on the property.
“The victims that we recovered previously were all dismembered,” Idsinga said.
“So it’s a job for the pathologists and the anthropologist to match these remains up. It’s way too early for me to say anything about whether these are from the same victim or not.”
Police said the K-9 unit visited the home recently and indicated there was a need to examine the area further.
“We continue digging in the same general area, but we have a long ways to go yet,” Idsinga said.
“Best case scenario is the remains we’ve recovered are matched up to the remains we’ve already recovered. And if there are any new remains, they are identified quickly.”
Idsinga further said that the identification process may take longer if the victim is new, such was the case when police released a photograph earlier this year of an unknown man believed to be another victim of McArthur.
“If it’s a new victim that we didn’t know about, who again we have trouble identifying, much like the gentleman in the picture we had to release… it took us a long time to get him identified,” Idsinga said.
“That’s going to take some time. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that and we will have answers sooner than later.”
VIDEO: A’Compost pile’ near home linked to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur showed off to reporters
Authorities said that between May and June, investigators were able to conduct searches at 100 other properties related to McArthur’s landscaping business, but nothing was found.
The 66-year-old was arrested in January and charged with murder in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen, who went missing from Toronto’s Gay Village in 2017.
Later that month, he was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, and Dean Lisowick. In February, he was also charged in the death of Skandaraj Navaratnam.
In April, police charged Mcarthur in the death of Abdulbasir Faizi, who was reported missing in 2010, and days later charged McArthur in the death of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, who came to Canada from Sri Lanka and was not reported missing.
— With a file from Andrew Russell