[123][125] McArthur killed him on or about January 6, 2016. The following day, Saunders' friend and former partner Idsinga called Gauthier's investigation into question with the professional standards unit. Crown attorney Mike Cantlon said his office received disclosure from police on February 13, and was in the process of vetting and screening it. [106], The police investigation had a continuous presence at the Leaside residence, often described as "ground zero",[107] and police established a command post on the property. Canadian serial killer Bruce McArthur used landscape planters as a She was not contacted again by police, probably because her academic data could not be used in court. [18] Esen was a Turkish citizen who had first come to Canada to be with a partner that he had met in Turkey. [120], On April 16, McArthur was charged with an eighth count of first-degree murder in the death of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam,[121] whose remains were the seventh set identified from the Leaside planters. Police believe that McArthur killed Mahmudi on or about August 15, 2015. [105][109], Forensic investigators spent hundreds of hours searching every inch of McArthur's apartment,[62] where Idsinga suspected some of the murders occurred. Epstein wrote a letter to the TPSB requesting a mandate to fully examine the investigation and perform a more thorough review. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. He definitely doesnt fit with what we think when we talk about serial killers, Lee said, adding that the documentary goes deeper than the superficial serial killer-as-monster approach. Mark Henderson, 56, was attacked by Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur just after noon on October 31, 2001, and is McArthur's first known survivor. I dont think people often pause to think about the larger social factors that go into enabling a killer like Bruce McArthur to continue getting away with his crimes, says Lee. 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. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. [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. Serial homicide expert Jooyoung Lee, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, also appears in the documentary. [56], At the end of July 2017, the TPS created a new task force, Project Prism, to investigate the disappearances of Kinsman and another man, Selim Esen, and to look for any links with the unsolved disappearances investigated under Project Houston. [6] A few blocks north from McArthur's workplace, a gay village was forming on Yonge Street between College and Wellesley streets, same-sex adult sexual behaviour having been decriminalized in 1969. He was born on October 8, 1951, in Lindsay, Ontario, and grew up on a farm in the Kawartha Lakes region. He made a comparison to the Seminole Heights serial killer in Tampa Bay, Florida, where police warned the public of a serial killer in November 2017. [18], By the end of January, Idsinga said they were investigating an alleged serial killer who had concealed evidence by burying it across the city. TORONTO Serial killer Bruce McArthur staged photos of some of his victims after they died, posing at least two corpses with cigars in their mouths, a prosecutor said Monday as the sentencing . [9] He became very active in his church, keeping himself busy to avoid examining his homosexual feelings. [107][118] Michael Pollanen, Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, said his organization had never before been involved in an investigation with such scope, drawing on the skills of each member for many unique challenges, such as scientific issues related to decomposition and post-mortem dismemberment. Canadian serial killer sentenced to life for murdering eight The idea that the victims were marginalized, to the fact that the police really just gave up looking for them until they found their bodies is a pretty compelling story and it deserves to be told, says Day. 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. [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". The voice thats missing is the killers. The house was sold in 2000, and records indicate that at that point, McArthur was still married. Police suspect there are other victims. Gleason also remembers seeing McArthur's landscaping van driving in the area. To get answers, producers talked to cops, friends, criminologists and others for the two-hour program. And he had those core beliefs from the church internalized., Watch Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur, a true-crime special about Torontos most prolific serial killer on @SuperChannel Fuse April 30th at 9pm ET. We interviewed victims. [11] Sometime after 1993, McArthur's employment in the clothing trade came to an end[7][9] and the couple faced financial difficulty, in part due to legal issues connected to their then-teenaged son, Todd, who was obsessively making obscene phone calls to women he did not know. [68], James Dubro, a long-time Toronto crime journalist and past president of the Crime Writers of Canada, wrote in July 2017 that a serial killer though not ruled out by police was highly unlikely. [85][83] He had periodically stayed at The Scott Mission on Spadina Avenue since 2003 and was last recorded there on April 21, 2016. From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun. McArthur became disappointed when his mother took interest in another man[9][11] and grew much closer to his father at this time. And after a tumultuous marriage, children and living a straight life for decades, McArthur finally came out of the closet. Republication or distribution of this content is These three properties were released back to their owners by January 23. [68], Court documents show that in November cadaver dogs were brought to a Mallory Crescent residence in the Leaside neighbourhood of Toronto. What we know about the life of accused serial killer Bruce McArthur | CBC News Loaded. Bruce McArthur was charged with first-degree murder in his death. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. [18] He was killed by McArthur on or about April 16, 2017. [39][44][45][46] An anonymous tip linking McArthur to Navaratnam and Kayhan led police to interview him[47] on November 11, 2013. 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. Another property searched was the condominium of McArthur's former boyfriend[88] on Concorde Place. [252][253], When McArthur pleaded guilty to eight murders on January 29, 2019, it removed concerns regarding his fair trial rights. [63], Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, 37,[160] last had contact with his family in August 2015. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. If you can get a reason you can build a sense of safety back into the world., But understanding a killers motive wont bring closure, Fleming stressed Dont ever use that word with bereaved people, he said. [80] Beginning on January 19, heaters in a large tent[90] were used to gradually thaw the frozen ground in the backyard of the Leaside residence[101][102] at a location indicated by both cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar. [166] He made another brief courtroom appearance on January 29, and subsequently attended via video link,[51] represented by W. Calvin Rosemond of the legal defence firm of Edward H. Royle & Partners. 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. For most people (when they come out)] its a tremendous sense of relief, Lee said. [186] The bar was found in McArthur's 2017 van and contained the DNA of Kinsman and Esen. [97][86][113][114], On March 5, Toronto police held a press conference and released a photo of an unidentified deceased man alleged to be another of McArthur's victims. [39] Kinsman, who was openly gay and had deep roots in the community, was regarded as a stable and responsible man whose friends felt would not suddenly leave, and certainly not without his cat[18] or his prescription medicine. Progress was made but criticisms following McArthur's arrest led to an April 2 statement by Pride's executive director and five LGBT organizations asking the TPS to withdraw its application to march in uniform. There was one job description that McArthur did not list on his resume: that of an undertaker. 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. McArthur was also a client of St. Stephen's and very trusted within the community support organization. [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. [7], A young McArthur attended a one-room schoolhouse outside Woodville. 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. He further suggested that the review consider systemic bias in the force. Read Story Transcript. After a number of significant investigations from local police, McArthur was arrested in January 2018 after being linked to the disappearances. [11][21], In court on October 5, 2018, Cantlon said that "negotiations and discussions are ongoing". [15] By this time McArthur had become a part of the gay community and was a regular at its bars. Accused serial killer Bruce McArthur was a mall Santa Claus. He even got a holiday gig working as a mall Santa, since he was pretty much perfect for the part: white skin, white hair, white beard, a big, bouncy potbelly, and a jolly attitude. [44] Kinsman was known as a stable and responsible man, a superintendent of his building and a community volunteer. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star/Getty Images) In 2019, McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. They had exhausted their options in identifying the man and hoped the public could help. [39] 51 Division, which includes Church and Wellesley, had 600 missing persons between 2014 and 2018 and about thirty cases remained open in March 2018. The same day, Tory spoke in favour of a "broader inquiry". Lerner noted that a long and complicated trial could put a burden on the jury and create a risk of mistrial. [40] Idsinga said that police knew "something was up" with the disappearances in Project Houston, that they had hunches of a killer operating at Church and Wellesley, but that he could not say it without evidence. The day after alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur was arrested for the murders of two men, . His fellow classmate Ron MacEachern said he never got into trouble, but loved being the one who told on those who did. In 2011, he told an acquaintance named Robert James about an incident in which he had been asked to leave a coffeehouse, which caused McArthur to knock all of the glasses off the counter in a rage. Canadian serial killer staged photos of victims' corpses, some with When Andrew Kinsman, a 49-year-old LGBTQactivist and bartender, disappeared in 2017, McArthur fell subject to an investigation again. [176][172] Following a judicial pretrial on November 30, McArthur appeared in court and was told that his trial would begin on January 6, 2020,[177] and was likely to last three to four months. Police Recover Remains of Six People in Toronto Serial Killer investigation [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. [50] Some questioned whether police had been taking their concerns seriously. [34] In 2014, Todd was sentenced to fourteen months in jail for making multiple obscene phone calls. Bruce McArthur: Who were Toronto serial killer's victims? [224] In July 2017 the TPA claimed that there was a staffing crisis with working conditions at "a breaking point", noting that staff had been reduced by 500 officers since 2010 while a budgetary task force recommended a hiring freeze. He preferred to strangle his victims with a rope tightened using a metal bar. In production since December 2017, the event went public on March 7 through a news release and Facebook page, described as "part vigil, part celebration". 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.