Landscaper Accused of Killing 5, Hiding Bodies in Planters

Toronto cops believe there are more victims to be found
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 30, 2018 1:43 AM CST
Updated Jan 30, 2018 6:19 AM CST
Landscaper Accused of Killing 5, Hiding Bodies in Planters
On Monday, a police officer investigates outside a house in Toronto where Bruce McArthur did landscape work.   (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

After a series of grim discoveries, police in Toronto believe they have a serial killer in custody—one who was able to operate undetected for years because he had a job that was perfect for hiding bodies. Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed landscaper, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of five men who disappeared between 2012 and 2017, the CBC reports. The skeletal remains of at least three victims were found in huge concrete planters at a client's home, and police believe that a search of around 30 properties where McArthur carried out work will uncover the remains of more victims. "The city of Toronto has never seen anything like this," police spokesman Hank Idsinga said Monday.

"We do believe there are more ... We have no idea how many more there are going to be," Idsinga said, per the Toronto Star. "He's taken some steps to cover his tracks and we have to uncover these victims and identify these victims." Idsinga said numerous planters have been seized from around the city. McArthur—who also worked as a mall Santa—was arrested earlier this month and charged with two murders. Police charged him with three more killings Monday. All of the victims were in their 40s and 50s, and police say they're investigating McArthur in connection with disappearances in Toronto's "Gay Village" district going back as far as 2010 and possibly earlier. Police said as recently as last month that there was no evidence to support suspicions of a serial killer, the Guardian reports. (More Toronto stories.)

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