Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur was charged Monday in the death of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, bringing to eight the total number of first-degree murder counts he faces.
McArthur, 66, made a short court appearance by video link to hear the latest charge.
Latest murder charge relates to man named Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, John Doe identified from police photo
—@LindaWardCBCPolice identified Kanagaratnam, 37, from a photograph. The force took the rare step of releasing an image of Kanagaratnam, deceased, to figure out who he was. A police source previously told CBC Toronto that image came from a cache of images found on McArthur's computer.
Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga, the lead investigator, said it's unclear how Kanagaratnam came into contact with McArthur.
Kanagaratnam moved to Canada from Sri Lanka in 2010 and lived in Scarborough, in suburban Toronto, before his death. Police believe he was killed in 2015, Idsinga told a morning news conference.
Idsinga said there is no evidence linking Kanagaratnam to the Gay Village, which several victims had ties to.
Cause of death of 8 not yet determined
McArthur had already been charged in connection with the disappearances of seven other men.
The others are: Selim Esen, 44, Abdulbasir Faizi, 44, Majeed Kayhan, 58, Andrew Kinsman, 49, Dean Lisowick, 47, Soroush Mahmudi, 50, and Skandaraj Navaratnam, 40. None of the charges against McArthur have been tested in court.
While Idsinga has an idea of how at least some of McArthur's alleged victims were killed, he said investigators have been unable to definitively determine the cause of death in each case.
McArthur, who worked as a landscaper, remains in custody at the Toronto South Detention Centre in Etobicoke, in suburban Toronto.