A single mother of three whose body parts were found scattered around Toronto last week was identified as 41-year-old Liu Guanghua.

Neighbors said Liu, a Chinese-Canadian who owned and operated the holistic spa Forget Me Not beginning in May, was quiet and reserved.

Bei-Bei Ni, who owns Asia Studios where Liu worked as a licensed body rubber until April, said Liu revealed little to her coworkers. She only said that she used to work at a factory in China, Ni said.

"I don't know what her life was like," Ni said. "We only know she has one son. Today the news says she also has two young kids. We were shocked."

Neighbors to Liu's Scarborough townhouse said she was from Fujian province and lived with her eldest child, a 19-year-old son.

Liu reportedly was last seen on Aug 10 after being dropped off by friends at Forget Me Not. Police say the business is now defunct.

"Her life was good enough that she opened her own business," Ni said to the Toronto Star. "Of course we're all sad. She was a nice, normal person."

Zhong Hongnuo, a consul at the Consulate-General of China in Toronto in charge of overseas affairs, told China Daily on Wednesday that "this cruel criminal case has shocked local community, and we want to express our deepest condolences to the victim's family."

The consulate-general has called on the Canadian police to expedite its investigation.

The head, foot and hands of the victim were discovered in a river west of Toronto last week. Over the weekend, her calves, a thigh and an arm were found in a creek in eastern Toronto.

The consulate-general has announced two 24-hour emergency hotlines on its website for Chinese who are seeking help or have clues to Liu's killing. Zhong said there is no public danger for Chinese communities in Toronto.

The killing of Liu strikes eerily close to the May dismemberment of Chinese student Lin Jun in Montreal. Porn actor Luka Magnotta is accused of dismembering Lin and mailing his body parts to the headquarters of two political parties in Ottawa.

"Police said they have ruled out any connection between Liu's case and another similar tragedy in Canada earlier this year," Zhong said.

Magnotta was arrested in Berlin less than a week after international police launched a manhunt for him. He is charged with first-degree murder and with harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as using the mail to deliver obscene material.

Peel Region Inspector George Koekkoek said Toronto police still don't know how Liu died and parts of her body have yet to be recovered, according to an Associated Press report on Aug 21.

According to the news website www.iask.ca that provides information for Chinese residents in Canada, Liu lived with a 19 year-old son and had a boyfriend named Ken, who called the police to report her missing. She sometimes went by the name Heather.

chenjia@chinadailyusa.com