Toronto police say they have spotted a female homicide victim found in a garbage bag in Leslieville on Monday as 46-year-old Tien Ly from Toronto.
Police say Ly was living with her 20-year-old son, Dallas Ly, and investigators are trying to locate him to make sure he is safe.
“Investigators are seeking public assistance in locating the dead woman’s son,” said Const. Alex Lee told reporters at a news conference Wednesday night. “They told me that they were living together and that through the search, there were concerns after they went to their place of residence that they could not find her son. And as a result, we appeal to members of the public. “Anyone with any information please contact the police and give information about Dallas.”
Toronto police spent much of Wednesday searching for a building on Carlaw Avenue and Dundas East Street, just minutes from where the body was found Monday. Police confirmed that Ly and her son lived in a unit in the building.
Li did not say whether the apartment was considered a crime scene, but said it was “part of the overall focus of this investigation.”
The identification comes a day after police appealed for help in locating the body.
Police were called to the East Avenue and Berkshire Avenue area of Leslieville around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, after a passer-by found human remains in a garbage bag on the south sidewalk.
Investigators said Tuesday that the victim’s death was considered homicide following the results of the autopsy. There were obvious signs of injury and dismemberment, police said.
Police told reporters they had released some details for Tuesday in hopes of a quick identification of the body. In particular, they said that the victim had a distinctive design painted on her fingernails and toenails and that he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a red “Armani Exchange” logo on it.
No arrests or details of the suspects have been released so far, but investigators say they want to talk to anyone who noticed someone pushing a folding shopping cart filled with a black garbage bag or bags in the area between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday. Police said several bags were found at the scene.
Lee said Wednesday that police are still trying to determine why anyone would want to kill the 46-year-old woman.
“This is part of the investigation,” Lee said. “These are the questions that homicide investigators are asking us to answer, and again, we urge any member of the public, who has any information about it, to contact us.”
Although he did not go into details, Lee said investigators found “cause for concern” as he entered the home where Ly and her son lived Wednesday.
