Toronto police have charged Bruce McArthur with an eighth count of first-degree murder Monday morning. He appeared in court via video link.
At a press conference Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga revealed the identity of the alleged victim as Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam. Idsinga said he was killed sometime between Sept. 3 and Dec. 14 of 2015, when he was 37 years old, but was never reported missing.
Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam has been identified from remains found at Mallory Crescent. Kanagaratnam was never reported missing in Canada. (Toronto Police Service)
Kanagaratnam, who lived in Scarborough, came to Canada from Sri Lanka in 2010 and had relatives in the GTA, according to police. An international government agency helped identify the victim, Idsinga said but he would not explain more.
He did say that his team is attempting to communicate with family in Sri Lanka through a Tamil-speaking officer to get more information.
“While we are saddened, we are also tremendously proud and relieved to have been able to bring closure to the friends and family of Mr. Kanagaratnam and the seven other victims.”
McArthur, 66, is also charged in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Majeed Kayhan, 59; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj Navaratnam, 40 and Abdulbasir Faizi, 42.
This now makes Kanagaratnam the seventh victim to be identified among the bodily remains found in planters at Mallory Crescent, near Bayview and Moore avenues. Kayhan is the only unidentified victim.
Unlike the other victims, Idsinga said, Kanagaratnam does not appear to have any connections with Toronto’s gay village.
“He doesn’t quite fit the profile that we’ve seen before,” Idsinga said.
The investigation into McArthur and his landscaping business spans at least 70 properties where police believe the landscaper worked.
Idsinga said he has an idea of how McArthur supposedly killed his victims, but he is still looking into each individual case.
McArthur remains in custody at the Toronto South Detention Centre in Etobicoke.