Guang Hua Liu was reported mssing on Aug. 11. (Canadian Press)

The man charged with murder after his estranged girlfriend's body parts were found in various Toronto-area parks and waterways made a brief appearance in court Monday morning.

Chun Qi Jiang, 40, wore a dark orange T-shirt and brown slacks and fidgeted in the prisoner's box.

He was ordered remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Oct. 16.

Jiang was arrested Aug. 26 and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Guang Hua Liu.

Police say the pair had a four-year relationship and have deemed Liu's death a domestic-related homicide.

Parts of the 41-year-old woman's body — including her head — were found in mid-August scattered west of Toronto and near her home in the city.

Police recently confirmed a torso found in a suitcase floating in Lake Ontario is also hers.

Liu was reported missing on Aug. 11, one day after her friends dropped her off in front of a now-defunct spa she owned called the Forget Me Not Health Centre in east Toronto.

On Aug. 15, her right foot was found in the Credit River in Mississauga, Ont., about 45 kilometres west of her home.

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.

Forensic tests determined all the remains belonged to Liu, but police still do not know how she died.

Investigators are also still zeroing in on the location of the murder.

In a strange twist, the body of Jiang's mother was found inside his townhouse in Scarborough on Sunday.

Police say they do not consider the death to be suspicious.