Police in Canada find torso in suitcase in Lake Ontario

TORONTO – Police in Canada found a badly decomposed torso in a suitcase in Lake Ontario off Toronto on Wednesday and notified authorities investigating the murder of a mother whose remains were found scattered around the city last month.

Toronto Police Det. Les Dunkley said two boaters spotted the suitcase and brought it to shore, where police opened it. Dunkley said police can't say who the victim is or what gender the body is until they get autopsy results. An autopsy had not yet been scheduled.

In last month's case, Liu Guanghua's head, foot and hands were discovered in a river west of Toronto. A few days later, her two calves, a thigh and an arm were found in a creek in eastern Toronto. Her torso was not found. Her estranged boyfriend was charged with murder last month.

Dunkley said he couldn't say why police in Canada have found so many dismembered remains this summer. Last week, a woman's torso was found at the base of Niagara Falls. Police have ruled out any connection between that case and Liu's.

The cases have received extra attention since porn actor Luka Magnotta was accused of dismembering a Chinese student in Montreal and mailing his body parts to political parties and a school earlier this year.

Police have said the more recent cases have no connection with that one.