After spending nearly two months searching a Waterloo landfill for evidence connected to the death of Catherine Todd, police say that aspect of the investigation has come to a close without success.
“We had targeted an area that we felt would most likely contain the evidence and perhaps Catherine Todd, and we’ve exhausted that search area,” said Insp. Kevin Thaler.
Todd, 48, was reported missing from her Kitchener home on March 21.
Kitchener resident James Parise, 25, was charged with second-degree murder in the case five days later, which is when the search of the landfill began.
A loveseat had also been taken from Todd’s apartment, and police said they expected to find the loveseat – and possible clues to the location of Todd’s body – at the Waterloo Regional Landfill.
Police were searching a specific area of the landfill that had been partitioned off from the rest of the site.
The area was roughly the size of a football field and contained approximately 400,000 cubic feet of waste material. Eleven or more officers took part in the search every day, combing through about one tonne of waste each minute.
Parise remains in custody. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 22.
Police say their investigation into Todd’s death continues in other ways.
“It’s with a heavy heart, obviously, that we didn’t find what we were looking for, but at the same time the opportunity to bring closure to the Todd family,” said Thaler.
“We’ve exhausted all our avenues to do that at this time, but the search will continue.”
In an email to CTV News, Todd’s brother Steve Todd says his family is proud of the police and landfill workers for their diligence and compassion in the search.
“We are devastated that the search was unsuccessful, however we are hopeful we will eventually have some partial closure with the conviction of the accused,” he wrote.
Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide detectives at 519-650-8500 ext. 8314.
