Daily BrewDetails continue to emerge on Toronto body parts victim Guang Hua Liu's life and business
Guang Hua Liu, identified by Peel Regional Police as the victim in a Toronto-area body parts investigation was a holistic practitioner who became the owner of a spa this past May, according to the Globe and Mail.
Ms. Liu lived in a Scarborough townhouse near Huntingwood Drive and Kennedy Road, walking distance from where her calves, arm and thigh were found.
She lived with her adult son, while her two younger children lived with their father. Reports suggest that Ms. Liu was planning on shutting down her business and moving back to China with her estranged husband. Acquaintances have told reporters she had a Caucasian boyfriend in Toronto named Ken. Neighbours had noticed little business going on at her store and some had complained to the city thinking it may have been a front for illegal activities. Licensing and zoning inspectors had visited the business and found no violations. When they spoke with Liu, she said the business was for sale.
The Globe reports that a friend dropped her off at the Forget-Me-Not Health Care Spa in Scarborough around dinner time on Friday, August 10.
Hikers made the first discovery of Ms. Liu's body parts in Hewick Meadows Park in Mississauga, west of Toronto.
The 41-year-old was identified by Peel Regional Police Insp. George Koekkoek during a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
[ Related: Police identify remains of woman found scattered in Toronto-area waterways ]
Police are treating Liu's death as a homicide.
"We have no reason to believe that this is anything other than an isolated case and that’s the focus of our investigation thus far," Koekkoek said.
After Liu was reported missing, Toronto police issued a news release with her description on Aug. 14.
She was described as being 5'1", weighing 108 pounds and having "thin eyebrows that are tattooed and long, straight auburn/brown hair."
Police executed search warrants overnight at a Scarborough motel in connection with the investigation. Peel Regional Police Const. Fiona Thivierge told CBC News that the investigation is moving forward in both cities.
"There have been search warrants issued and executed in different parts of both regions," Thivierge said.
[ Photos from the crime scenes ]
On Monday, police said they believe the body parts found in Mississauga's Hewick Meadows Park last week are likely related to other remains found in east Toronto over the weekend.
"We have a female victim who unfortunately we've been able to find portions of her body in two jurisdictions," Peel Regional Police Sgt. Pete Brandwood told reporters on Monday.
[ Related: Body-parts slaying clue may lie in security videos ]
In Mississauga, which is part of Peel Region, police have recovered a right foot, a severed head and two hands during a multi-day search in Hewick Meadows Park.
Meanwhile, Toronto police have recovered an arm and two calves after they were alerted to the discovery of remains in West Highland Creek on back-to-back days on the weekend.
Brandwood said there are "obvious similarities between the discovery of those body parts in Toronto and the recent discovery of our body parts here in Peel."
[ Related: How body parts evidence gets from crime scene to courtroom ]
(With files from CBC)
