Victims in multiple slaying came from Toronto area
Last Updated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:27:55 EDT
CBC News
The eight men whose bodies were found in and around four vehicles in a farm field in southwestern Ontario were from the Greater Toronto Area, police said on Sunday.
The victims all knew each other, an Ontario Provincial Police spokesman said a day after the grisly discovery near the village of Shedden, about 30 kilometres south of London and about 200 kilometres west of Toronto.
It was the biggest mass murder in recent Ontario history.
"Obviously, we're not used to having eight people at one homicide scene," Det. Supt. Ross Bingley said at a news conference.
"In 27 years of policing, I don't recall that number of people at any one location, so obviously it's fairly significant."
But Bingley stressed that police wouldn't comment on the cause of death until they got more information from the coroner's office in Toronto. Autopsies were scheduled for Monday.
No names will be released until the victims' families are notified, Bingley said.
Police refuse to comment on possible link to gangs
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) also refused to discuss any possible links between the killings and organized crime, although surrounding Elgin County has a history of biker gang activity.
Several motorcycle clubs have been known to populate the area, including the Loners, the Bandidos and the Hells Angels.
"The Hells are present in Ontario; everybody knows that," Bingley said. "But as far as me discussing the Hells or anybody else, we're working on this murder case and we're not talking about the Hells."
A couple found the bodies on their property at about 8 a.m. EDT Saturday, just off a dirt road near Shedden.
The bodies were removed overnight and taken to Toronto.
Police seek witnesses who saw vehicles
Bingley identified the vehicles as:
A grey Pontiac Grand Prix.
A silver Infiniti sport utility vehicle.
A green Chevrolet Silverado tow truck.
A silver Volkswagon Golf.
He urged anyone who may have spotted the vehicles in the area to call police.
The slayings have shocked people in Shedden, where residents told reporters they couldn't remember the last time there had been a serious crime.
Police were called to a rural area near Shedden, Ont., where eight men were found dead in and around four vehicles. (Steve Martin/Canadian Press)