Chun Qi Jiang is to stand trial for the murder of Guang Hua Liu, 41, who was last seen by friends in the area of a spa she ran in Scarborough on Friday, August 10, 2012. Liu’s body parts were found across Toronto and Mississauga.
A man charged with murder after his estranged girlfriend's body parts were found in various Toronto-area parks and waterways has been committed to stand trial.
Chun Qi Jiang, 41, was ordered last week to go to trial on a charge of first-degree murder after a preliminary hearing, which is held to determine if there is enough evidence for a case to proceed to trial.
Mr. Jiang was arrested Aug. 26, 2012, and was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of Guang Hua Liu.
Police say the pair had a four-year relationship and have deemed Ms. Liu's death a domestic-related homicide.
Parts of the 41-year-old woman's body — including her head — were found scattered west of Toronto and near her home in the city.
Mr. Jiang is scheduled to appear next in Superior Court in Brampton, Ont., on Sept. 13.
Ms. Liu was reported missing on Aug. 11, 2012, one day after her friends dropped her off in front of a now-defunct spa she owned called Forget-Me-Not Health Care Spa in east Toronto.
Four days later, her right foot was found in the Credit River in Mississauga, Ont., about 45 kilometres west of her home.
Ms. Liu's head and hands were later discovered in the same river in the Hewick Meadows Park area. Days later, two calves, a thigh and an arm were found in West Highland Creek, just blocks from where she lived. Her torso was found in a suitcase floating in Lake Ontario.