The owners of a Toronto property where the remains of eight men were found held a ceremony to bless and renew their home on Saturday.
Community members read prayers and sang songs at the home that’s been linked to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
The homeowners, Karen Fraser and Ron Smith, reflected on how their lives were upended over the last year during the police investigation that included a major excavation of their property.
“I want to say thanks to my partner,” said Smith. “There’s nobody I would rather go through a rough time with.”
Police found the dismembered remains of eight men with ties to the city’s gay village in planters and in a ravine behind the home, where McArthur worked as a landscaper.
McArthur has since been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder in the men’s deaths.
READ MORE: Remains of all eight Bruce McArthur victims now identified
Fraser handed daffodils to those in attendance, including local MP Robert Oliphant and other politicians, and said the flowers would be planted on the property with the hopes they will bloom in the spring.
“The good is coming. It’s going to take a while but we are strong enough to handle it,” said Fraser. “We’ll make it better and we’ll find the good in everything.”
She said she chose yellow daffodils to replace the yellow police tape that covered the property during the investigation.
“When I finally got to what was left of my yard last spring, there were little bits of yellow all over the place and I thought, ‘Some people have daffodils and I have shredded police tape.’ And then I thought of daffodils,” said Fraser.
Acting Insp. Hank Idsinga has said the current evidence in the case suggests there aren’t any more alleged victims, but investigators are still sifting through tips from across Canada and abroad, as well as analyzing cold cases and missing persons’ reports.
McArthur briefly appeared by video in court on Wednesday and will return to court in person on Oct. 5.
The Canadian Press
