The badly decomposing body of Christopher Raynsford was found in his downtown apartment last week.  An autopsy showed he had been beaten to death.

Friends said that Raynsford had been a regular in a popular gay online chat site and that a month before he was killed he had been beaten and robbed by a man he met there. Raynsford had discussed the incident with friends but had not reported it to police..  

It has now been learned that police believe the man who beat and robbed Raynsford in November may have been his killer.

Forensic experts are continuing to extract material from his personal computer.  Chat company gay.com says it is cooperating with authorities.

Based on interviews with friends of the dead man, police have obtained a description of the man and have determined he is from Montreal, the CBC reports.

Investigators are now examining similarities between the Raynsford case and the assaults and robberies of other gay men in the Ottawa area.  Earlier in the investigation police said they did not think the two cases were connected.