Man arrested, charged after Toronto man found dead in compactor

A man has been arrested and charged after Toronto police found the body of a man in a compactor near a Liberty Village townhouse complex.

In a news release Friday night, police said they investigated a suspicious death that happened on June 8 around East Liberty Street and Western Battery Road.

Officers identified the victim as 53-year-old Toronto man Reeyaz Habib. Police said he was reported missing on June 9.

A 33-year-old Toronto man was arrested and charged with indignity to a human body and obstruction of justice in connection with the case.

He appeared in court on Friday.

Habib was a filmmaker and alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC). The centre remembered him as a “gifted storyteller and filmmaker” who was finishing up his first feature Fat Lady Sriracha as a writer and director.

“This is a great loss for the CFC and Canada’s creative community,” the centre said in a statement online.

“Reeyaz will be deeply missed by so many.”

In a press release shortly after police identified Habib, Fat Lady Sriracha producer Jaskaran Singh called Habib a “wonderfully kind spirit” with an “excitement for life, and telling the complex yet necessary stories within it.”

“He brought us all together to fulfil a lifelong dream,” wrote Singh. According to the release, Habib left behind a 15-year career on Bay Street to pursue a passion for filmmaking.

“We’re extremely grateful for the time and trust we got to have with him, and look forward to honouring his legacy by making sure his story gets told.”