Remains found in bag behind Toronto butcher shop may belong to a woman: police

Toronto police say the remains found behind a butcher shop in the city's East Chinatown maybelong to a woman.

Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne said it's up to the coroner to determine whether or not the remains are, in fact, human, but said he's confident they belong to a light-skinned adult female.

Browne said it's too early to call thedeath a homicide, but did tell reporters at the scene"it's suspicious, obviously."

Browne said an employee at the butchersnotified themabout the grisly discovery around 11:20 a.m. ET. The remains were found in theBroadviewAvenue andGerrardStreet East area, behind aBroadviewbutcher shop.

A forensics team removed a body bag containing some of the remains from the scene at around 7 p.m.

Browne said only a portion of the body has been found at this time and urged people in the area to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour. He added he believes other body parts may be discovered in the vicinity.

At this time, police have no idea about who may have done this, Browne said.

Police shut down area around butcher shop

Police put up a black tent in the area behind the butcher shop. Next to the tent,at least eight evidence markers dotted the ground.

Police cordoned off the butcher shop and surrounding East Chinatown businesses throughout the afternoon and have been speaking with several people in the area.

Meghan Cafferky, who said she's lived above the butcher shop for seven years, came home from work to find police officers surrounding her apartment.

She said police officers didn't tell her much about what had happened when they questioned her.

She said she doesn't think the owners of the shop had anything to do with what happened.

"They've been a part of this community for 30 years,"Cafferky said.

"I just trust them completely."

Homicide detectives have been notified about the discovery.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact police directly or Crime Stoppers anonymously.