Family of Toronto man, presumed murdered, visits landfill on first day of police search
The family of Nathaniel Brettell, an Etobicoke man who was presumed murdered in January, made the trip to London on Monday to see the first day of a massive police search of a landfill for his remains.
Lois and Ian Brettell drove for hours from their homes in the Niagara region to the Green Lane Landfill, bringing with them mementos and photos of other deceased family members to remind their brother he’s not alone.
“I’m full of anguish, full of pain,” Lois Brettell told CTV News London outside of the facility on Monday.
“I’m Nathaniel Brettell’s baby sister — I want to know everything I can.”
The 57-year-old Toronto man first went missing in January from his Etobicoke rooming house. Officers looking for him on February 2 were attacked by a man with a butcher’s knife.
Ahmed Al-Farkh, 34, was charged with attempted murder by the officers. Police say they found blood in Brettell’s apartment and concluded he had been murdered — but there was no sign of a body.
Toronto Police have said they have reason to believe his body is at the landfill and got a warrant to search the property as of last Monday, but the search didn’t begin until today.
From the outside, the only sign of activity was two Toronto Paramedics vehicles. Three staff members had been sent, the agency said, to provide medical care to officers on the ground. The search is expected to take months.
The facility takes roughly 800,000 tons of trash from the City of Toronto annually.
Lois is hoping that earlier investigative steps would make the week’s delay less likely to hurt the chances of finding evidence.
“There were police on this ground in late February. There were spikes put in the ground around a certain area in this landfill, where they presume my brother’s remains rest,” she said.
Ian said he and his sister are hoping they will finally know the truth of what happened to their brother.
“I miss him. It’s really hard,” he said. “Just to know what happened to him — to have closure on it,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.