Bruce McArthur charged with 1st-degree murder in Skandaraj Navaratnam's death

Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur is now facing a sixth charge of first-degree murder, this time in the death of Skandaraj Navaratnam, whose remains were found in a planter seized from a property linked to the landscaper.

Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga announced the latest charge at a news conference Friday.

Shortly after the news conference, McArthurappeared in a Toronto court via video link. He will return to court on Feb. 28.

The 40-year-oldNavaratnam was known to friends asSkanda. He was last seen leaving a Toronto nightclub on Sept. 6, 2010. A friend reported him missing 10 days later. Navaratnam was later one of three men included in a Toronto police task force called Project Houston, which looked at the disappearances of men from the area aroundthe city's Gay Village between 2010 and 2012.

While Idsingawould not confirm if or how Navaratnamand McArthurknew each other, a friend previously told CBC Toronto that the two had a romantic history dating back to the early 2000s.

McArthur and Navaratnam were listed as friends on Facebook before McArthur's profile was pulled down.

Idsingasaid Navaratnam'sremains were found in one of the five planters police recoveredfrom a midtown Toronto home on Mallory Crescentthat's been a focus of their investigation into McArthur.

Bruce McArthur charged with 6 counts of first-degree murder

7 years ago

Duration 1:03

The remains of Skandaraj Navaratnam, known to friends as Skanda, and Soroush Mahmudi are among those of Andrew Kinsman recovered from planters at a Leaside property where Bruce McArthur worked. The 66-year-old landscaper is now charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of six men: Navaratnam, Kinsman, Mahmudi, Majeed Kayhan, Dean Lisowick and Selim Esen.

Jean-GuyCloutier, who reportedNavaratnammissing, said after eight years of unanswered questions he is "very relieved" to know what happened.

"I was also in shock and really angry to know that my best friend was killed in such a way and then just disposed inhumanly," he toldCBCToronto.

"Just to think that a human being could do that to another and others is just shocking to me."

NowCloutierhopes "even though the outcome is so horrific that he didn't have to suffer," he said ofNavaratnam's death.

Idsingaalso said another set of remains found in a planter from the property has been identified: those of SoroushMahmudi, 50. McArthur is already charged in Mahmudi's death.

McArthurwas previously charged with five counts offirst-degree murder in the cases ofAndrew Kinsman, 49, SelimEsen, 44,MajeedKayhan, 58, DeanLisowick, 47, and Mahmudi.

Since McArthur'sJan. 18 arrest, Toronto police have been combing properties where the 66-year-old landscaper worked.

Police recovered the remains of at least six people, including those of Kinsman,hidden in five large planters at theMallory Crescentresidence whereMcArthurstored equipment for 10 years in exchange for landscaping work.

The remains of three other peoplehave not yet been identified. Idsingasaid Friday there are a handful of ways to identify remains, each of which takes a different amount of time. Fingerprints and dental records are relatively quick methods, he said. A DNA analysis can take much longer, in some cases months, he said.

Investigators spent three weeks camped out at the Mallory Crescent home and even dug up the main drainpipe in front of the property looking for potential evidence. A portion of pipe was removed for testing. Police have wrapped their investigation at that property for now, but Idsingasaid Friday investigatorswill return when the weather is warmer to let police dogs have another look around.

As he has said before, Idsingareiterated his belief that more charges will be laid against McArthur. He also suggested the investigation could stretch into several months, or even years depending "on what we find and where the investigation takes us."

He noted that police have gone through "upwards of 20" planters seized from various properties, and are still searching "several" other properties, including two or three "we are particularly interested in."

Asked where the alleged murders occurred, Idsingawould not provide a specific answer, saying only: "We do believe we have multiple murder scenes."

As part of the investigation, police are looking into "multiple outstanding murder cases," as well as "hundreds" of outstanding missing persons cases, Idsingasaid. He had previously said the outstanding cases go back decades.

He also revealed Friday that investigators are also looking at "sudden death" cases, but did not get into specifics.

He noted that there's been a "surge" of missing persons cases since the McArthurinvestigation broke.

Asked about the sustainability ofa years-long investigation, Idsingasaid it "depends on what we find."

"As long as we're finding things, it's not getting pared down. It will get expanded. Whatever I've asked for, I've received. Manpower is not an issue."

Idsinga, a veteran police officer, called the McArthur case "unique," even for seasoned investigators like himself and members of his team.

"We've been doing this for a long time. I'm not going to say we're used to seeing things like this. It's completely different," he said. "We'll get through it. I admit it's very tiring. It's very disturbing."