On the morning of January 18, police watching McArthur observed a young man entering the Thorncliffe Park building where there the 66-year-old landscaper rented an apartment. READ MORE: Police found man tied to Bruce McArthur’s bed when he was arrested, sources say 
 
 Police sources told Global News a planter was seized from the property of the townhouse next door to Ewart and Tesher. McArthur has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Andrew Kinsman, Dean Lisowick and Soroush Mahmudi. Sgt. On Monday, investigators announced they seized a dozen planters after searching through 30 properties where McArthur may have worked. Article Continued Below 
 
 Investigators now believe that Majeed Kayhan, 58, Dean Lisowick, 47, and Soroush Mahmudi, 50, were killed by McArthur, who was known in Toronto’s Gay Village. Idsinga told reporters Monday that the ongoing probe — which includes 30 properties to which McArthur is linked through his landscaping work — is “unprecedented.” Police located the dismembered remains of three unidentified people inside large planters at a home in Leaside. Hank Idsinga, the lead investigator on the case, has called the investigation "unprecedented." The homeowner of a two-storey home on a quiet street in Mississauga, who only identified himself as Bill, told Global News he has known alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur for roughly 15 years. (Toronto Police Services/YouTube) 
 
 A team of dedicated investigators, forensic specialists and dozens of officers, including some from the K9 unit, have been scouring the properties, with the belief that yet more human remains could be found. READ MORE: Timeline of events in Bruce McArthur suspected serial killings case 
 
 “Right now where we’ve recovered the bodies are from large planters and they’ve been hidden in the bottom of these planters,” Idsinga said. READ MORE: Suspected serial killer Bruce McArthur accused of murdering 5 men, police say 
 
 “They cannot be identified because they are skeletal remains and they have been dismembered, We have to wait for DNA tests and we have to get DNA tests from the people that are outstanding and their family members before we can identify those remains,” Idsinga said. There are at least two sites that we do want to excavate where people might be buried.” 
 
 But the remains haven’t been identified yet, police said. The charges against McArthur have not been proven in court.
– Toronto police arrested a suspected serial killer out of fear for a young man's life, sources say. The man—who was seeking a sexual encounter, per the CBC—was found restrained but unharmed in Bruce McArthur's apartment on Jan. 18; police had the 66-year-old landscaper under surveillance and observed the young man entering the 19th-floor unit, police sources tell the Toronto Star. McArthur is now charged with the murders of five men, aged 44 to 58, who disappeared between 2012 and 2017; three people's remains ended up in two concrete planters at a client's home. Police are reportedly probing some 30 properties linked to McArthur's landscaping business as part of what the Star says is "poised to become the most ambitious homicide investigation in Toronto's history." Toronto police Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga says the investigation is "unprecedented" in scale, with the CBC reporting properties visited by McArthur are located across the Greater Toronto Area. "I have seen large-scale investigations before with dozens and dozens of officers working on them. We've never seen anything quite like this," Idsinga tells the Star. The Global News quotes him as saying on Monday that authorities will excavate "at least two sites ... where people might be buried." It's not clear how McArthur knew all of his alleged victims, but investigators say he was in a relationship with one of the men and was known in Toronto's Gay Village. He'll next appear in court Feb. 14. (McArthur also worked as a mall Santa.)