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Bruce McArthur’s decision to allegedly bury human remains in planters may have actually preserved them and made it easier to identify the victims, according to a forensic anthropologist.

Scott Fairgrieve, the forensic anthropology consultant for northeast Ontario to the office of the chief coroner, said the details behind the McArthur investigation don’t surprise him because killers tend to dispose of remains in a manner that’s more convenient, instead of rational. Like Robert Pickton — who confessed to putting his victims’ remains through a meat grinder and feeding them to the pigs at his farm — that often involves the workplace.

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“He’s certainly utilizing his cover, if you will,” Fairgrieve, who is also the founder of the forensic science program at Laurentian University, said.

Photo by Courtesy of Laurentian University

Fairgrieve is used to arriving on crime scenes and taking advantage of the mistakes killers make to speed up investigations. In general, burying human remains maybe be their first slip up, he said.