[65] Follow-up investigations had then considered whether additional searches would be required. [240][241][242] Protocol for an external review was debated on March 22 by the TPSB, which voted to back an external review that would exclude the McArthur serial murder investigation. [14], In the mid-1970s, McArthur's father was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was sent to a nursing home. [68], On October 3, plainclothes police officers arrived at Dom's Auto Parts in Courtice, Ontario, 70 kilometres (43mi) northeast of Toronto. Editor Sylvia Stead of The Globe and Mail stated that "true news photos" should be recent, like courtroom sketches, and that the balance should be in favour of the victims. Karen Fraser, whose home was turned into a crime scene after McArthur's arrest, said she didn't expect such a thing of him. Megyn Kelly causes stir posing poolside in 'Make Women Female Again' MAGA-style hat, Bar that booted patrons over Bud Light controversy begs for business, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced by big-name star on 'American Idol', DEAR ABBY: Ex-girlfriend believes she wasn't cheating, WARMINGTON: We should never forget Florida Panthers' snub of Leafs Nation, Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox. That conflict remained with Faizi, who was not out to his family. They were canvassing businesses for McArthur's 2004 Dodge Caravan, which owner Dominic Vetere confirmed he had purchased on September 16. [130] They collected human remains almost every day of this search. He wrapped one in a fur coat and placed a cigar in his mouth for one post-mortem photoshoot. Photo by Facebook. [78][79][80][81] Referred to in court as "John", the man had arrived in Canada from the Middle East five years earlier, was married and had not told his family that he was gay. [61][18] Because of fears in the community, TPS Chief Mark Saunders held an unprecedented December 8 news conference on the three separate investigations into the deaths of Richey and Wells and the disappearances of Kinsman and Esen. Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old grandfather, landscaper and mall Santa, has been arrested in the disappearance of two men from Toronto's gay community. Wells' friends say that this resulted in her body being unidentified for months. [9][18] Henderson fought back before losing consciousness. She noticed a pattern and concluded that a serial killer was operating in Toronto. Kevin Nash says McArthur "came into the picture" of Navaratnam's life in 1999 and that the pair began a romantic relationship that lasted until at least 2008. Lives could have been saved: Family of McArthur victim Selim Esen calls for public inquiry, Eight men, eight stories: What we know about serial killer Bruce McArthurs victims, McArthur is the oldest confirmed serial killer in Canadian history. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. It might have been his devout, authoritarian father, his closeted homosexuality or a plethora of other hang-ups. [150] He was an immigrant from Afghanistan. [206][243], In mid-April, the board unanimously approved a working group to define the specifics of the external review. [58] Her disappearance was reported by her father in early November 2017, four months after her Facebook account went dormant. [18] Since 2007 or 2008, he was living in a 19th-floor apartment[9] at Leaside Towers[31] in Thorncliffe Park, a neighbourhood populated mainly by immigrants[32] about 5 kilometres (3mi) northeast of Church and Wellesley. Bruce McArthur just didn't fit our preconceived notions of what a serial killer should be. McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder last week. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. [15] By this time McArthur had become a part of the gay community and was a regular at its bars. He pleaded guilty to murdering eight men between 2010 and 2017, who had all disappeared without a trace from Toronto's Gay Village district. They had also disappeared over holiday weekends: Navaratnam at Labour Day, Faizi after Christmas, Kayhan during Thanksgiving, Esen on Easter, and Kinsman after Toronto Pride. [51] The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OFPS) and the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) were aiding with the searches of McArthur's apartment and the Leaside property. [18] His son Todd was reported to have difficulty accepting his father as gay. [77] Round-the-clock surveillance was put on McArthur, with instructions that he should be immediately arrested if observed "alone with anyone". Bruce McArthur, a 67-year-old . [133] Additional tip-offs caused the number of properties to be searched grow to 75[116] then 100,[134] some of them outside the city. He said that McArthur was always accompanied by an older white man, who appeared to be romantically involved with him, and a day labourer, usually of Southeast Asian or Middle Eastern descent. [135][136] These searches had concluded by the first week of June. After a number of significant investigations from local police, McArthur was arrested in January 2018 after being linked to the disappearances. And he liked to photograph them once they were dead. Monday's . Notes are intended to briefly show commonalities, vulnerabilities and connections to McArthur. His client list appears to have been long on Monday, police revealed that they are in the process of investigating some 30 properties where he may have worked. McArthur was about to put tape over the man's mouth when he heard a knock at his door. [8], McArthur began working for Eaton's department stores as a buyer's assistant around 1973, in a downtown Toronto building later demolished for construction of the Eaton Centre. Audiences south of the border are learning about McArthurs murders for the first time, says Day, and theres a huge appetite for these stories in what he calls a golden age for true-crime programming. What we know about the 8 men killed by Bruce McArthur. As of Monday, McArthur stands accused of the first-degree murder of five men: Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick. [18] He was killed by McArthur on or about April 16, 2017. Bruce McArthur is a Canadian serial killer known for murdering men during a heinous eight-year murder spree. Some victims were refugees and immigrants. The charge came as Faizi's remains were identified from the Leaside planters, along with those of Esen and Lisowick. [78] Saunders, who had been a homicide detective for nine years, was an investigator first and spoke in terms of evidence that could be presented in court. Investigators said they believed they interrupted McArthur from claiming his ninth victim. the police involved in the investigation declined to speak about the killer's motive. Previously police could only obtain such records if a crime was suspected. . He was a suck-up, an unapologetic teacher's pet, a tattletale. He shared anti-Trump content, liked images of tropical birds, and posted pictures of himself dressed for his part-time job as a mall Santa. [108] On February1011 the search of the house was completed and it was released to its owners after more than three weeks. Cops dont always get every confession.. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. [172], Several media outlets had applied for the release of the psychiatric and presentencing reports from McArthur's 2003 assault conviction. He was born on October 8, 1951, in Lindsay, Ontario, and grew up on a farm in the Kawartha Lakes region. His age may have helped him hide 'in plain sight', "Why experts say we should investigate Bruce McArthur's motive even if we never get answers", "BRUCE McARTHUR: Does suspected serial killer embody 'banality of evil? [6], McArthur was bussed to nearby Fenelon Falls Secondary School for his secondary education, where he met and began dating Janice Campbell, both graduating in 1970. [219] Gauthier wrote that this changed after Saunders' February 27 interview in The Globe and Mail. A serial killer who preyed on men before burying their bodies in potted plants pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder Tuesday. On Oct. 21, 1989, a man's body was found in an isolated area . Bruce McArthur, 69, was arrested in January 2018 and later pleaded guilty to murdering eight men between 2010 and 2017, who had all disappeared without a trace from Toronto's Gay Village district. To order copies of While the police couldn't see the driver, they got the make and model of the . [151][237] In late February Saunders came to the conclusion that the public could not get clear and credible answers without an independent external review, and suggested as much to Tory and Andy Pringle, chair of the TPSB. McArthur's childhood was spent in Woodville, Ontario, a small rural town northeast of Toronto. Queer refugees, transgender and two-spirit people spoke of their vulnerabilities, experiencing disproportionate violence within the LGBTQ community. Bottom row (left to right) are Skandaraj Navaratnam, Andrew Kinsman, Kirushna Kanagaratnam and Majeed Kayhan. By 1986, a 35-year-old McArthur was married, with records showing that he and his wife Janice purchased a roomy brick home on a suburban street in Oshawa. [124] Police said they would look into why his name was not on a list of missing persons. He sets aside the question of motive, asserting "the cottage industry of serial-killer profiling is a lot of quackery." The book is as . [255] Civil litigation lawyer Douglas Elliott suggested that rather than conducting separate investigations, that Epstein be named to lead a public inquiry with a provincial mandate and subpoena powers. [27] A 2011 change to the criminal code permits a judge to order that parole ineligibility periods be served consecutively[189] for offences committed after that year, which would include six of McArthur's murders. Privately, cops and other experts will tell you on pain of death, that yeah, in all probability there are other victims of Bruce McArthur. If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is. [221], The TPS receives over 4,000 missing-persons reports each year,[208] with most resolved within a few days. They believed he entered a car sometime after 3 PM and left with someone. [188] McArthur's 2003 conviction did not come up on background checks. [227], Tory has been supportive of police[51][207] while acknowledging legitimate questions about the investigation that would be answered in due course. According to James, McArthur turned red and screamed about "f---ing f---ots [sic] telling stories about me!" [144] According to a bartender, Kayhan had been active in the gay village since the mid-1990s and would stay at an apartment kept by his partner, who had also not come out to his family. [138] On July 20, it was announced that the remains belonged to Kayhan, and that the remains of all of McArthur's alleged victims had been identified. Lerner noted that a long and complicated trial could put a burden on the jury and create a risk of mistrial. Pringle was taking it under advisement, while consulting with the Ontario Attorney-General;[254] a public inquiry can only be ordered by the provincial government. He hopes the documentary will bring a deeper understanding of the many factors that went into creating Bruce McArthur and abetting his crimes.. McArthur was also active on online dating apps like manjam and silverdaddies, often using a variation on the username "silverfox. Investigators had finished searching the Leaside planters, from which the remains of all but Kayhan had been identified; they had one set of unidentified remains. So, Lee said, McArthur embarked on his new life as a middle-aged gay man not feeling buoyant but obliterated. He had post-traumatic stress disorder from the SovietAfghan War and was a heavy drinker. [207] Saunders had expressed gratitude toward the community for their help in the investigation in earlier instances,[53][32] on one occasion saying he was "proud of the fact that the community did help us out in this". According to Maclean's, McArthur started a whole new life in Toronto. He was not reported missing. After he was released the same day McArthur continued killing, murdering at least two of his eight known victims before finally being arrested on Jan. 18, 2018. [88][90], The owners of the Leaside residence were barred from their home January 18 so that forensic investigators could search it. [23][57] Greg Downer, a friend and colleague of Kinsman's who set up Facebook groups dedicated to finding him and other missing men, organized an August 1 community safety meeting in which police gave an overview of the task force and thanked the community for "the abundance of information" that they had received. The story of the investigation that led to his arrest is the subject of the new true crime documentary Catching A Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur, which premieres Sunday, April 11, on Oxygen and the NBC app. [209] After dinner the man got into the back of McArthur's van where they began kissing, petting and undressing. Robbery was ruled out as a motive. In the end, the man behind all the murders was Bruce McArthur. She says two of McArthurs victims worked with him on jobs in her yard. [76] The person who found Wells' body informed both police and The 519 community centre, but 519 staff failed to follow up with police or transgender-focused organizations. Born in 1951 and raised on a farm northeast of Toronto in a considerably less liberated era, Lee believes that McArthurs battle with his homosexuality lasted a lifetime. [9][22][23], McArthur avoided incarceration, spending the first year of his sentence under house arrest,[17] followed by a six-month curfew and three years of probation. Then he allegedly made a costly mistake", "Documents reveal police had close call while searching apartment of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur", "Prosecutor describes disturbing details of Bruce McArthur's crimes at sentencing hearing", "Bruce McArthur charged with 1st-degree murders of 2 men who disappeared from Toronto's Gay Village", "What we know about the suspect in the disappearances from Toronto's Gay Village", "Accused serial killer Bruce McArthur to pal: 'I'm tired of these f---ing f---ots', "As the murder investigation expands, one man says Bruce McArthur sold him planters. [123][125], The scope of the investigation was expanded at the end of February 2018, looking at outstanding murder cases, hundreds of missing-persons cases and sudden death occurrences and coordinating with other Canadian and international forces. "[34] A.J. Khan, a Toronto restaurant owner, remembered McArthur as a friendly regular. Another property searched was the condominium of McArthur's former boyfriend[88] on Concorde Place. They took more than 18,000 photographs and collected over 1,800 items. He was also credited for sparing family and friends of the victims a lengthy trial by pleading guilty. [215] The professional standards unit received special permission from the civilian Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) to lay charges against Gauthier, as their investigation exceeded the six-month window required under the Police Act. The 67-year-old has been given eight concurrent life sentences, and will not be eligible for . "[235] The advisory panel was named in January 2019, and included Forrester, ASAAP executive director Haran Vijayanathan, activist Ron Rosenes, Indigenous lawyer Christa Big Canoe, former Ontario Court of Justice chief Brian Lennox, former member of the Gay Officers Action League Michele Lent, workplace human rights lawyer Andrew Pinto, and Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre executive director Angela Robertson. The closed-door meeting with the Crown and defence lawyers and a judge[171] was to address issues such as resolving the case without a trial (such as by entering a guilty plea), trial length, and procedural and evidentiary issues. And that may have sent Bruce McArthur on his murderous odyssey of death. [97] Investigators said that it could be months before all the remains were identified. There is no equivalent database in Canada, which lacks standardized reporting. [40][200][151][201] Idsinga denied this, noting that Project Houston was a bigger investigation. Missing persons posters plastered the sidewalks. Epstein had been appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 1993[250] and made a prominent ruling that the Ontario Family Law Act definition of spouse was unconstitutional because it discriminated against homosexual couples. Gleason also remembers seeing McArthur's landscaping van driving in the area. The Act was passed in March 2018[236] by Ontario's Liberal government as part of Bill 175, but as of October2018[update] it has been stalled by the new Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford with no timeline for bringing it into effect. [206] One group held a rally outside police headquarters calling for Saunders' resignation. When the police came to McArthur's door, the serial killer's potential next victim was handcuffed to the bed with a black bag without holes to see or breathe pulled over his head. Although the cases occurred in close proximity, police did not believe they were related and Saunders said they had no evidence of a serial killer.[58][18]. All of the victims had one thing in common: they were all gay men. Born in 1951, he was raised on a farm, went to elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse, and lived far from the free love hippiedom and sexual revolution of . According to the Toronto Star, a psychological report on McArthur prepared for his sentencing in 2003 concluded that the risk that he would go on to commit more violent acts was "very minimal." In mid-December, 519 executives apologized for their "mishandling of information" but placed full blame on the police. A friend of Andrew Kinsman, who was murdered by Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur, says a police apology isn't adequate after a report outlined "systemic discrimination . [259], On March 10, Wong-Tam's website announced that the event would be postponed to address concerns, admitting that the event had sparked unnecessary division at a historic moment for the community. [219] The following week it was leaked to the media,[220] and Gauthier suggested that this was done to divert attention from Saunders' remarks. On Jan. 18, Bruce McArthur, 66, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of 44-year-old Selim Esen and 49-year-old Andrew Kinsman, two gay men who disappeared last year. Navaratnam also worked for McArthur's landscaping business and friends said that they were still involved in 2008. He was actually exiled from the Gay Village in 2003, after he used a metal pipe to assault a man there in 2001. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. [57] Realizing the difficulty police faced with judicial authorizations for data from servers located outside Canada, which caused delays in the crucial early days of the missing persons investigations,[18][55] Downer appealed to dating apps to provide an option for users to consent to have their data released to police if they went missing. Accused serial killer Bruce McArthur was a mall Santa Claus. [228] But by the end of February they said that the police relationship with the community had to be rebuilt[204] and in early March that they were "no longer surprised" by "incompetence" in the investigation. [27] McArthur had pictures of this man; in some he was wearing a fur coat similar to the one in which McArthur posed his victims. He was released on bail and ordered to stay with his father at his Toronto apartment[7] and assist with McArthur's landscaping business. [205], The story was widely cited by other media outlets and caused a backlash against Saunders, with his comments taken by LGBTQ leaders and the community as victim blaming. The police ended up searching 75 properties connected to McArthur during their investigation. The prosecutor wanted to see McArthur jailed with no chance of parole for 50 years, however the judge decided on half that to account for his age. After finding a corresponding number to the email address in . permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. rights reserved. He first landed on the police's radar in June 2016, after a man called 911 to report him for attacking and trying to strangle him during a sexual encounter. The answers were there, of course, but only in their most superficial form. Each murder was either premeditated or involved other crimes which qualified them as first-degree: six were "sexual in nature"[182] and five included confinement. Surviving victims of last summers shooting on the Danforth and the families of Reese Fallon and Julianna Kozis may likewise never know why gunman Faisal Hussain did what he did. [69][70][71][72] This blood was identified as Kinsman's. Such surroundings were obviously not conducive for coming out as gay. McArthur also began exploring his newfound sexual freedom by frequenting Toronto's gay district, the Church and Wellesley neighborhood, but he soon began to show that he was not as jolly as the red velvet suit would lead one to believe. tap here to see other videos from our team. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. [257], Media outlets with tight deadlines obtain photos from the Internet, and copied pictures from McArthur's Facebook page and online dating profiles within minutes of his arrest. When Bruce left Janice in 1998 or 1999, under amicable circumstances, he moved to Toronto to begin his new life as an out gay man. ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. [86], Police executed search warrants on January 18 at five properties associated with McArthur and his landscaping business: four in Toronto and a 9-acre (3.6ha) property about 200 kilometres (120mi) northeast in Madoc, Ontario. [249] Epstein asked Mark Sandler to serve as the review's legal counsel. Unfortunately, for the eight victims a decade later, that psychologist's prediction was dead wrong. [30], Cantlon said that McArthur "sought out and exploited [] vulnerabilities" in his victims that made his crimes difficult to detect; that he used sex to lure them, killing many in his bedroom through "ligature strangulation". Most of the victims were of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent and lived on the margins of Canadian society. The house was sold in 2000, and records indicate that at that point, McArthur was still married. And after a tumultuous marriage, children and living a straight life for decades, McArthur finally came out of the closet. And that's exactly what he did. [53] On the evening of June 28, learning that no one had seen Kinsman in a couple of days, Ted Healey and other friends gained access to his apartment. David Dickinson and Insp. Grisly portrait of McArthur's crimes emerges at sentencing hearing. A new Canadian true-crime documentary about notorious serial killer Bruce McArthur is the first super deep dive broadcast about the murders of eight men in Torontos gay village, says showrunner and co-executive producer James Buddy Day. [85][83] He had periodically stayed at The Scott Mission on Spadina Avenue since 2003 and was last recorded there on April 21, 2016. McArthur would spend the better part of the next three decades not being able to decide on what he wanted. McArthur did not hide the fact, laughing over it at breakfast. [226][58][60] At a February 29 TPSB meeting, Tory moved to have the internal report made public or as much as could be released given the ongoing investigation and legal proceedings. The New York Times reported in February 2019 that McArthur pleaded guilty to the murders of the eight men and was sentenced to life in prison, and that he would not be eligible for parole for 25 years. [31], Mike Arntfield, a criminologist and Western University professor, has advocated data-based approaches to augment traditional investigative work, particularly in detecting elusive criminals like serial killers. [104] Forensic anthropologist Kathy Gruspier, who arrived to oversee the excavation, did not find any sign of soil disturbance by previous digging. [79] Criminologist and Western University professor Michael Arntfield said that the alleged method of disposal suggested a sophisticated killer who had developed his craft and, as most serial killers begin in their 20s, the crimes could go back several decades[93][94] and represent the longest run of a serial killer on record. [8], In 2002, while the assault case was still before the courts, McArthur registered with Recon, a gay fetish dating website for men into BDSM,[18] where his profile noted his interest in submissive men. [63], Following the extensive coroner and pathology examinations, after Crown and defence lawyers had information needed for trial, the victims' remains were released to their families. But James McArthur is now considered one of Canada's most prolific serial killers who heinously took the lives of eight men. Several of the deceased had characteristics that made them more easily victimized or the crimes easier to conceal, such as moving between temporary residences or keeping aspects of their lives secret. [41] According to a 2018 W5 investigation, a man posted on cannibal website Zambian Meat in 2012 that he had killed and eaten a man in Toronto, which had led to the formation of Project Houston. But nobody was coming to us with anything. [62] A partial download from McArthur's computer, which was going through forensic analysis[64] of deleted files, yielded post-mortem photos of the victims that day. Karen Fraser, the owner of the house on Mallory Crescent where human remains were found by police, told CBC that McArthur had an arrangement with her to store tools in her garage, aset-uporganized by McArthur's sister. Top row (left to right) are Selim Esen, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick and Abdulbasir Faizi. [186] The bar was found in McArthur's 2017 van and contained the DNA of Kinsman and Esen. He took staged post-mortem photographs, typically with ropes around their necks or with them nude in a fur coat or hat; some photographs had them with their heads and beards shaved, with McArthur having kept their hair[188][27] in Ziploc bags in a shed at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. McArthur became disappointed when his mother took interest in another man[9][11] and grew much closer to his father at this time. Specific investigations to be examined will include Project Houston, Project Prism, and the investigations into the deaths Alloura Wells and Tess Richey. [144], Andrew Kinsman, 49, was last seen June 26, 2017, the day after Toronto Pride, near his Winchester Street residence in Cabbagetown, south of the gay village. Court documents from the time of his sentencing in 2003 show him living in a high-rise apartment on Don Mills Road in Thorncliffe Park, a 10-minute drive away from the apartment on Thorncliffe Drive he was living in at the time of his arrest. The man outed him (McArthur) to his family, to friends, and that gave him kind of this really high level of resentment toward the gay community that may or may not have contributed to what he did, Day said. Although the remains had not been identified, police had gathered enough evidence to charge McArthur with three additional counts of first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of Majeed Kayhan, a Project Houston subject; Soroush Mahmudi, who disappeared in 2015; and Dean Lisowick, a homeless man who was never reported missing. One widely covered story in the media was the account of a 52-year-old part-time university teacher[3] from Thunder Bay[209] who had known McArthur for about ten years. Lonnie Franklin, the Grim Sleeper in L.A., was also an elderly man.. [16][8], McArthur, who turned himself in after the attack, said he did not remember the incident or why he might have done it. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [41], Jooyoung Lee suggested that there was racism within the gay community, indicated by the relatively weak responses to the disappearances of the brown-skinned men in contrast with the campaign to find Kinsman. [40][62] CBC News examined hundreds of pages of partially redacted court orders unsealed in September 2018, and concluded that there had been "considerable effort" toward investigating all three Project Houston subjects. [256], Canadian media have drawn criticism for the imbalance in images of McArthur and his alleged victims. [40] [213] McArthur allegedly began throttling the man, who broke free and said he would report what happened to police. [70][82] Police seized electronic devices from the apartment, including five cellphones, five computers, three digital cameras, and about a dozen USB flash drives. [84], On April 11, McArthur was charged with a seventh count of first-degree murder in the death of Abdulbasir Faizi. Canadian actor Dave Rose portrayed Bruce McArthur. [248] Past reviews are also to be examined including the review into the 1981 bathhouse raids, the city auditor's report following the Paul Callow investigation, and the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry following the Robert Pickton case in British Columbia. Those sad, tormenting secrets are now locked somewhere inside the black void that is McArthur. Chaplin also allowed the media to view, but not publish, photographs of the victim's injuries and the weapon used, citing fair trial rights and the victim's privacy.
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