Sgt. Mike Carbone said Wednesday. Police have not released the names of the victims.
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Carbone said autopsies conducted on the victims showed that the woman, whose body was found in a stand-alone garage, died from ligature strangulation, a man found in the same garage died from a crossbow bolt stab wound to the neck and a man found in the driveway died from a single arrowhead stab wound to the neck.
Brett Ryan of Toronto has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He appeared in court on Friday, Aug.26.
Police did not say whether the bolt and arrow were shot or used as handheld weapons.
One neighbour, who said he made the call to 911, told reporters last week that a man who was not the accused knocked on his door covered in blood.
“That’s our role right now, to try and find out what set this off”, he said. Police have said that person was treated and released from hospital. Ryan was referred to as the “fake beard bandit” after more than a dozen robberies in June 2008 because he allegedly wore a fake beard.
Ryan has been remanded to custody until at least September 2 and authorities caution the investigation is in its infancy. In January 2009, he was convicted on charges related to the bank robberies and served three years and nine months behind bars.
Toronto police responded to a call for a stabbing just before 1 p.m. Thursday at a home occupied by two men and a woman at 10 Lawndale Road, near Argo Road in the Eglinton Avenue East and Markham Road area of Scarborough.
“I will not go into the specifics as to what was located there”. The lead detective in the case asked for the public’s help on Tuesday, requesting anyone who had contact with Ryan on Thursday morning to contact him. “However, at this point I can say there was no danger to any members of the public. There were certain items in the dwelling”, he said. “It certainly now makes up part of this investigation”.
“This is quite the procedure, even if you had a cocking aid”, said Kathleen Millar, former technical and executive director of Archery Canada, about reloading a crossbow.
Investigators are looking to speak to anyone who may have spoken to the accused between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on August 25, and are asking anyone with information to contact police or CrimeStoppers.
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Social media profiles show that Ryan was engaged to a registered physiotherapist.
