The remains found in a Toronto trash can belong to a little girl: police

Human remains found in a construction dumpster outside a vacant Toronto home earlier this week have been confirmed as belonging to a four-year-old girl, police said.

The remains were in a dumpster near Rosedale House on Dale Avenue near Castle Frank Road on Monday afternoon.

Police said the bodies have now been confirmed as belonging to a girl between the ages of four and seven.

Investigators believe the remains were left in the dumpster between 12:00 p.m. Thursday and 4:45 p.m. Monday.

However, police say the girl may have died last summer or earlier.

“We have the best detectives in the Toronto Police Service working on this case with everything they have, so we're going to identify this little girl and we're going to do everything we can for her,” said Insp. Hank Idsinga told reporters at a press conference Thursday morning.

Police have not officially classified the girl's death as a homicide at this time, but Idsinga said homicide detectives are actively involved in the investigation with the understanding that “children don't just die.”

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He said investigators are looking into old missing persons reports and have identified “a couple that come close,” but investigators have not identified any at this time.

He also said members of the Toronto Police Service's Forensic Video Analysis Unit are reviewing footage from a number of street cameras, but he acknowledged that police have not found any footage that directly points to the dumpster where the little girl was found.

“You have to look at the cars that go by and look at the people that go by. It's a lot of work,” he said.

Police could not determine the cause of death through an autopsy.

Idsinga said the remains will undergo further examination by the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, which could shorten the time the girl died.

“After yesterday's post-mortem, we got our first general idea of ​​the size and approximate age of this child. This is still new information. We received this information at 6pm last night and I have been investigating it ever since,” he said.

“You know, unfortunately, we've seen this before (dead bodies being disposed of after they've happened). But I don't recall any case where a pathologist had to rely on an entomological process to age the time of death. victim, so it's a very unique situation that we're dealing with now.”

The girl is described as being of black, African or mixed African descent. She was about three foot six, with a slim build and dark curly hair in four short ponytails, two of which were braided and secured with black and blue elastic bands.

His remains were wrapped in a woven blanket inside a plastic bag. That bag is wrapped in a colorful blanket. Police have released this picture of the blanket in hopes of sparking someone's memory.

“Our first task this morning is to find out who this little girl is,” he told reporters.

A memorial was growing near the Dale Avenue home where the girl was found Thursday. A few flowers were left next to the police tape, as well as a note that said, “Little baby, we pray that heaven will dry your tears.”

Speaking to reporters at a press conference Thursday morning, Mayor John Tory also commented on the girl's death, calling it an “unspeakable tragedy.”

“I have grandchildren around that age. They say this little girl is between four and seven years old. There's a story about little ponytails like my granddaughters, you know, and it just broke my heart when I read that and talked to the police about it,” she said. “I just I can say my heart goes out to that child. No child, no one should ever have to go through this.”