Alanna Rizza

Toronto police have now recovered the remains of six people and identified one of them in an investigation into what they have described as the work of a serial killer.

Bruce McArthur, 66, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick.

Speaking Thursday at a home on Mallory Cres., near Bayview and Moore Aves., where McArthur mowed the owner’s lawn in exchange for storing landscaping equipment in the garage, Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga said Kinsman’s remains are among those recovered.

Police had earlier said the remains of three people had been recovered. On Thursday, Idsinga said police have now found the remains of three more people, and that all the remains were discovered in planters at the Mallory Cres. home. He said police have seized 15 planters, but “exactly where we are on the examination of those planters, I’m not ready to say yet.”

Idsinga said he expects more charges to be laid against McArthur.

Police have been at the Mallory house since Jan. 18, when they arrived with a search warrant forcing Karen Fraser and Ron Smith to leave their home. The owners were briefly allowed back on Feb. 1 to collect personal items and clean their fridge of spoiled food.

Police are now in the process of excavating the backyard starting with thawing the ground which Idsinga says could take about another week. He said police have finished examining the inside of the home, including the garage, and that the owners can return as early as tonight.

Investigators have expanded their search to more than 30 properties tied to McArthur’s landscaping business.