Man charged with murder after Markham woman's remains identified

• UPDATE: On Nov. 27, York Regional Police said Changlin Yang has since been charged with first-degree murder in Ying Zhang's death. 

A 26-year-old man is facing charges of second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body after the coroner's office confirmed that human remains found during a search in Kawartha Lakes this week were those of missing Markham woman Ying Zhang.

In a news release Thursday, York Regional Police said East Gwillimbury man Changlin Yang is now facing upgraded charges. He was initially facing charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement and aggravated assault.

Yang briefly appeared at a virtual court hearing Thursday afternoon, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He is expected back in court later this month.

Zhang's body was found on Monday in the Village of Kirkfield, roughly 140 kilometres northeast of Toronto, police said. Investigators announced Wednesday that a body had been located, and said at that time officers were waiting for the coroner to confirm its identity.

The discovery was made on Monday around 5 p.m., police said, in the area of Palestine Road and Fenel Road. 

Investigators had been conducting a ground search in the area after a white van, alleged to belong to the accused, was seen in that location, Const. James Dickson said in an interview with CBC Toronto.

"The body was located inside of a green bin," Dickson said. "It appears that there were other items that were discarded along with her remains before it was dumped at the side of the road."

Dickson said the circumstances in which the body was found contributed to the indignity to a dead body charge, but he could not specify what sort of condition it was found in.

"While this is an absolutely horrible situation, this is insult to injury for the family," he said.

Zhang, 57, was last seen on July 25 around 10:40 a.m. at a wellness centre in the area of Woodbine Avenue and Steelcase Road in Markham. Her family reported her disappearance that evening after she failed to return home from work, police said.

Investigators are still working to determine Zhang's cause of death, Dickson said, as well as exploring any sort of link or relationship between the two.

"At this time, we still do not have a full understanding of their relationship," Dickson said.

Similarly, officers are still examining potential motives, he said.

"At this time it would be too early for me to speculate," Dickson said.

Police are asking anyone who was in the area at the time Zhang was last seen, or who may have seen the white Ford van that the accused is alleged to have driven, to contact investigators.