bruce mcarthur motive bruce mcarthur motive

[121] He had last had contact with his family in August 2015, and police believed that he had been killed between September 3 and December 14, 2015. [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. McArthur was ordered to be tried for eight counts of first-degree murder. McArthur is next in court Monday for sentencing proceedings that are expected to include a detailed statement of facts and at least two dozen victim impact statements. His chilling acts were investigated in the second season of Netflix's true crime docuseries Catching Killers. According to the man, McArthur had contacted him on the Bear411 app and suggested that they meet for dinner at Church and Wellesley. [106], McArthur was detained at the Toronto South Detention Centre. [262], In 2019, Justin Ling delved into the murders in Uncover: The Village, the third season of the CBC investigative journalism podcast Uncover. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. In McArthur's bedroom, officers found a bag with duct tape, a surgical glove, rope, zip ties, a bungee cord and syringes as well as DNA belonging to multiple victims inside McArthur's van and . They were from Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, and believed that they had come to a safe country where they would be free from persecution or discrimination. [260], The investigation, and its possible link to the still-unsolved 1970s murders, were the subject of Bob McKeown's television documentary "Murder in the Village", which aired in April 2018 as an episode of CBC Television's The Fifth Estate. He hopes the documentary will bring a deeper understanding of the many factors that went into creating Bruce McArthur and abetting his crimes.. Years on the road as a salesman would have given him ample opportunity to kill. Hank Idsinga and Toronto Star crime reporter Wendy Gillis, who has covered the case extensively since 2018. [49] McArthur told police that he knew both men and regularly interacted with Navaratnam at a gay bar, but denied being in a relationship with him. On January 29, 2019, McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder in Ontario Superior Court[1] and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for twenty-five years. McArthur ended up marrying his high school girlfriend, Janice Campbell, after they graduated in 1970. With a potential break on the horizon, the police examined surveillance footage from across the street where Andrew's house was located. But after Andrew Kinsman went missing in June 2017, police finally began to pay attention. That day, surveillance video outside Kinsman's residence showed a person matching his appearance approach a red vehicle. [265] The film was nominated for the Donald Brittain Award at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards. [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. Thomas Donald Bruce McArthur, or Bruce McArthur, was born on October 8, 1951, in Lindsay, Ontario, and was raised on a farm in Argyle, near Woodville in the Kawartha Lakes region. He will not be eligible for parole until he's 91. Andrew Kinsman, a friend to McArthur for 15 years, wrote down that name, "Bruce"; an appointment to keep, either "2 p.m. or 3 p.m." He became McArthur's eighth and last far as is . [220] On August 23, 2021, Gauthier was found not guilty on charges of insubordination and neglect of duty. 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]. [203] In 2017, Reid theorized that the killer was a person of colour like the victims, later stating this was because serial killers tend to target familiar communities. 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. Investigations will continue to be run by officers in each of the TPS's seventeen divisions. He further suggested that the review consider systemic bias in the force. Some victims were refugees and immigrants. This led to 5,000 tips being reported, one of which resulted in an arrest. [119] Investigators began reviewing these cases, dating between 1975 and 1997, for a possible connection to McArthur. Kinsman was well known in the neighborhood for his gay rights activism and his time tending bar at a popular Church and Wellesley watering hole, and his friends drew attention to his disappearance by posting flyers with his picture on them. He was definitely very atypical, University of Toronto criminologist Jooyoung Lee, who is interviewed in the documentary, told theToronto Sun. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto His clients were none the wiser. [218], In a two-page letter emailed to colleagues and obtained by news outlets, Gauthier stated that he was being made a scapegoat. He was quoted as saying, "We knew that people were missing and we knew we didn't have the right answers. His fellow classmate Ron MacEachern said he never got into trouble, but loved being the one who told on those who did. His research team developed an algorithm to perform cluster analysis on 800,000 American murders catalogued by the Murder Accountability Project, which has led to arrests in Cleveland and Chicago. More than a year later he came out of the closet to his wife but they continued living together. If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is. [256], Canadian media have drawn criticism for the imbalance in images of McArthur and his alleged victims. Image Credit: Bruce McArthur/Facebook/Toronto Star. Lisowick, in comparison, was mostly known by a police mug shot. [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. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Idsinga later said that "a crucial piece of evidence" was recovered because Kinsman's disappearance had been reported within 72 hours, after which evidence could have been lost. 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. [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. Crown attorney Mike Cantlon said his office received disclosure from police on February 13, and was in the process of vetting and screening it. [215][219], Gauthier has not made his first appearance at the tribunal. After searching a property linked to McArthur at Mallory Crescent in midtown Toronto, police discovered dismembered skeletal remains in the bottom of large planters that belong to at least three yet-to-be identified people. Now, a new documentary called Catching A Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur airing Friday at 9 p.m. on Super Channel Fuse hopes to peel back the layers of this chilling enigma. Statement of Facts in the Bruce McArthur Case; 2019 v. McArthur: Admitted Facts. A petition started that month called for the resignation of the 519's executive director, alleging prejudice against transgender and homeless people. [9] He became very active in his church, keeping himself busy to avoid examining his homosexual feelings. McArthur, who . Thomas Donald Bruce McArthur,[6] or Bruce McArthur, was born on October 8, 1951,[7] in Lindsay, Ontario, and was raised on a farm in Argyle,[8] near Woodville in the Kawartha Lakes region. [7] McArthur later graduated from a program in general business and married Campbell when he was aged 23. [110] It took them several weeks before searching McArthur's bedroom, where they expected to find the bulk of their evidence. Given what we know about his age I wouldnt be surprised, Lee said. [257], Another controversial photo was that of a dead man which police released in hopes that the public could help identify him. 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. Younger men of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent were in several pictures. [206][243], In mid-April, the board unanimously approved a working group to define the specifics of the external review. One of his victims was a homeless sex worker, another an asylum-seeker evading deportation. [71][68], On January 29, police announced that they had found the dismembered skeletal remains of at least three people in two of twelve large planter boxes seized from the Leaside residence. [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. What we know about the 8 men killed by Bruce McArthur. What drove serial killer Bruce McArthur to murder remains a mystery. The investigation into the disappearances, taken up by two successive police task forces, eventually led to Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed Toronto landscaper, whom they arrested on January 18, 2018. Bruce McArthur, 67, was arrested last January and charged in the deaths of two men. He also speaks about the systemic racism that led to lack of police followup when men of colour started going missing in the Village. 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. 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. [89] Of greater concern to investigators were McArthur's high-rise apartment in Thorncliffe Park and the Mallory Crescent residence in Leaside. McArthur did not want to go to the man's apartment because of security cameras in the area. [28] In a later interview with CP24, Saunders apologized if his comments to the Globe were "misconstrued or taken in the wrong context"[115] and that he had not intended to single out the LGBTQ community. He was not reported missing. Bruce McArthur, who has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder, apologized in court in a 2003 case to a man he beat with a metal pipe. He interviewed cult leader Charles Manson not long before his death for the 2017 documentary Charles Manson: The Final Words.. 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. Epstein wrote a letter to the TPSB requesting a mandate to fully examine the investigation and perform a more thorough review. It was also noted that marginalized communities could make better use of the resources than by throwing a party. [103] A forensic pathologist was expected to take at least ten days to excavate for remains by hand. When circumstances permitted, he also strangled them to death. Bruce McArthur was charged with first-degree murder in his death. The slain men who had Facebook accounts posted fewer pictures and Lisowick, a homeless man, had no digital footprint; so the first available picture was a police-released mug shot. Under that lovable exterior, however, lurked a paragon of Arendt's "banality of evil.". But he wasnt a complete anomaly. I dont know if well ever know why, Toronto police Det. ", "Lead detective in Toronto serial killer case refutes charges of racism in probe", "Unsealed documents reveal early Toronto police effort to find victims of alleged serial killer", "The untold story of the first suspect in the Toronto serial killings", "Toronto police investigated whether Gay Village murder suspect had help from notorious killer Luka Magnotta", "The Vanishing Men of Toronto's Gay Village", "Toronto police link three missing persons cases in Gay Village", "Piecing together the story of three missing men from Toronto's gay village", "Toronto police interviewed Bruce McArthur years before his arrest for six murders", "What we learned from Day 1 of serial killer Bruce McArthur's sentencing", "Toronto police officer to be charged in connection to Bruce McArthur investigation", "On the trail of a serial killer 'He's taken some steps to cover his tracks', "Bruce McArthur charged with three additional counts of first-degree murder, police say", "Bruce McArthur: Alleged Toronto serial killer charged with murdering at least six gay men", "Police say he's a serial killer who buried his victims' remains in potted plants", "Search intensifies for men missing from Toronto's LGBTQ community", "With Growing Fears in Toronto's Gay Community, Police Ramp Up Investigation into the Missing Men", "Toronto police to review handling of missing persons cases", "Downtown Toronto disappearances spark dating apps warning", "LGBTQ community holds vigil for murder victims", "Toronto police chief dispels rumours of serial killer in Church and Wellesley neighbourhood", "Head of Bruce McArthur investigation hints at evidence that led to arrest of alleged serial killer", "Bruce McArthur Brief Statement of Facts", "How police caught serial killer Bruce McArthur, according to the agreed statement of facts", "Bruce McArthur investigated months prior to arrest, documents show", "Toronto police reportedly cloned Bruce McArthur's computer what does that entail? University of Toronto criminologist Jooyoung Lee said its rare older men like Bruce McArthur become serial killers. cop faces internal charge over 2016 incident involving serial killer Bruce McArthur", "Toronto cop tells colleagues he's 'scapegoat' in Bruce McArthur probe", "Police officer who released serial killer Bruce McArthur in 2016 cleared of disciplinary charges", "Angry relative accuses police services of failing to follow up on multiple reports of missing man in Toronto", "Time 'not on the side' of police in Tess Richey case, former homicide detective says", "Toronto Police Association launches website warning of a 'staffing crisis', "Chief Saunders acknowledges 'morale issue' in Toronto police force", "No evidence of a serial killer in Church-Wellesley but there are opportunities to 'learn,' police say", "The 519: A Toronto community centre in the crossfire", "Councillor calls arrest in disappearance of men validating to community", "Mayor John Tory calls for independent review of Bruce McArthur investigation", "Toronto police-LGBTQ community relations reach breaking point over murders", "Organizers don't want Toronto police at Pride parade, amid anger over Bruce McArthur investigation", "Police probe unsolved 1970s gay murder cases over possible link to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur", "Donations help fund Toronto funeral service for Alloura Wells", "After Bruce McArthur's arrest and criticism over missing persons cases, Toronto police moved to 'step up our game', "Toronto police create first-ever missing persons unit in wake of McArthur investigation", "South Asian LGBTQ group starts safe date program after Village murders", "External, public review of missing persons a must: Chief Saund ers", "Mayor Tory confirms police board, not chief, will initiate missing-persons review", "Don't delay inquiry into police dealings with Bruce McArthur, LGBTQ group urges", "LGBTQ community calls for immediate public inquiry into missing persons", "Toronto's LGBTQ community calling for independent inquiry into missing persons, murder cases", "Decision to exclude McArthur homicide probe from missing persons review raises questions", "Toronto Police Services Board names working group for missing persons review", "Police board wants $25K budget boost to support external review of missing persons cases", "Review cases of alleged McArthur victims, working group tells Toronto police board", "Working group to probe police's mishandling of Village murders takes cautious first steps", "Toronto police board approves $3-million review of handling of missing persons probes in wake of McArthur case", "Justice Gloria J. Epstein to head review of Toronto police missing persons investigations", "Toronto police board retains judge to lead review into missing persons cases", "Judge named to head review of Toronto police handling of missing person cases", "Activists, lawyers leading Toronto missing persons panel launched amid Bruce McArthur probe", "Ex-judge unveils panel tapped to review Toronto police missing persons probes", "Head of missing-persons review seeks mandate to examine Bruce McArthur case", "Justice looks to have missing persons inquiry expanded to include McArthur", "Head of missing persons review asks permission to probe Toronto police's McArthur investigation", "Why you've seen accused serial killer Bruce McArthur's travel photos but not his mug shot", "Why the Toronto Star is not using a mugshot of accused serial killer Bruce McArthur", "Has Toronto's serial killer been murdering gay men since the 70's? [224] An unexpected number of early retirements were attributed by the TPA to stress and morale, and McCormack noted "when we have a stressed-out officer, when we have people who are burned out, it really does impact public interaction". For most people (when they come out)] its a tremendous sense of relief, Lee said. Vetere said that officers later told him that they had found trace amounts of blood in the vehicle. [22] A criminal defence lawyer found the list of conditions uncommon and suggested that the judge was concerned that McArthur was a danger to all male prostitutes. Top row (left to right) are Selim Esen, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick and Abdulbasir Faizi. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution [165] He made his first court appearance on January 19, 2018, represented by lawyer Marianne Salih. [235], The Missing Persons Act would make it easier for police to obtain judicial orders for access to phone records or financial information in a missing persons case. The police raided his apartment, found more evidence connecting him to other murders, and saved the man's life. Unfortunately, for the eight victims a decade later, that psychologist's prediction was dead wrong. The answers were there, of course, but only in their most superficial form. [62] The large number of tips generated in Tampa may have been influenced by a US$100,000 reward offered at that time. TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian serial killer Bruce McArthur was sentenced to life in prison on Friday in a trial that gripped the country and shocked the gay community of Toronto. And that's exactly what he did. Police believe that McArthur killed Mahmudi on or about August 15, 2015. [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. As Australia's 7News reports, the landscaper who was great with his clients' kids (he was Santa, after all) "was turning their gardens into graveyards.". "[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. [142][143], Five victims were noted by investigators for similarities: middle-aged, bearded, patrons of The Black Eagle bar, and self-identified as "bears" (gay men with overtly masculine traits). 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. They were canvassing businesses for McArthur's 2004 Dodge Caravan, which owner Dominic Vetere confirmed he had purchased on September 16. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. [233], In a March 9 statement, Saunders said that he understood the public's frustrations with the limited information that had been released during the investigation. After joining Facebook in 2011, McArthur began cataloguing his evenings out, posting pictures of Halloween parties, birthday dinners and concerts. [38], McArthur's separation from his wife was initially heated, though they later reconciled. The crown asked for a 50-year parole ineligibility, citing "the enormity of McArthur's crimes", his lack of remorse (McArthur declined to address the court[190]), the betrayals upon his victims, the effect of his crimes on the community, and how he had been a danger up to his arrest. They have been tasked with digitizing and reviewing thousands of missing persons files dating to 1953, and to act as a central hub to review each active missing persons case. [40] Daniel Lerner, a Toronto defence lawyer and former Crown prosecutor, suggested that the Crown should consider severing the charges. After the van was seized, they discovered traces of Kinsman's blood inside. Project Prism was overseen by Detective Sergeant Michael Richmond[39] and led by Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga, who had served on the homicide squad for over thirteen years and had been assigned to Project Houston for six months. [161][162][163], In January 2018, a publication ban was ordered on court proceedings, limiting what could be reported in the media. Cadaver dogs were having trouble detecting scents due to the cold weather and frozen ground. The video did not show a licence plate or a clear picture of the driver, but chrome siding identified it as a 2004 Dodge Caravan. It means that were all vulnerable., Knowing why a loved one was killed doesnt make someone feel better, but it does allow people to put some distance between them and the crime, Fleming said. [209] After dinner the man got into the back of McArthur's van where they began kissing, petting and undressing. The latest unidentified remains were found in 2018 inside a planter at the same Canadian home where six others were unearthed. [50] On January 17, two pieces of evidence came to light directly connecting McArthur to the disappearances of Esen and of Kinsman. [68][23] A camera was installed to monitor the garage. Read Story Transcript. [164] In mid-March the same year, Cantlon said one package of disclosure had been made to McArthur's lawyers, with more to be expected in the following weeks, some in excess of 10,000 pages owing to the case's complexity. [11] He pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm,[9] and on April 11, 2003, received a conditional sentence of 729 days (two years less a day). McArthur's childhood was spent in Woodville, Ontario, a small rural town northeast of Toronto. [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. [48], All information should be properly sourced below and is accurate as of June23, 2018[update]. He was a suck-up, an unapologetic teacher's pet, a tattletale. [51] According to a 2016 case summary, there was still nothing to explain what had happened to these men. [11][21], In court on October 5, 2018, Cantlon said that "negotiations and discussions are ongoing". [48] He had agreed to keep his relationship with McArthur secret, and let himself be handcuffed to McArthur's steel bedframe. 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. [34] In 2014, Todd was sentenced to fourteen months in jail for making multiple obscene phone calls. We encountered an issue signing you up. 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. [13] In October 2018, homicide detective David Dickinson said that they had not yet found any links between McArthur and the cold cases. Now, a new documentary called Catching A Serial Killer: Bruce . McArthur put a black bag over his head and tried to tape his mouth shut before police officers interrupted him. They found no sign of disturbance, though his 17-year-old cat was out of food and water. A colleague who installed water features on three of McArthur's projects described him as more of a gardener, operating out of a little van with old tools. 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. In January 2019, he pleaded guilty to murdering eight men between 2010 and 2017. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. [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. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about TORONTO, Jan 29 (Reuters) A Canadian man charged with the murder of eight men who disappeared over several years pleaded guilty to the charges on Tuesday, police said, in a case that shook Toronto's gay community. The same day, Tory spoke in favour of a "broader inquiry". [219] Gauthier's lawyer and Toronto Police Association (TPA) President Mike McCormack have stated that the case should be heard by an independent judge instead of a tribunal officer appointed by Saunders. [271], In 2022, British journalist Mobeen Azhar presented a six-part true-crime series on McArthur titled Santa Claus the Serial Killer, broadcast on BBC Three. [23], A source told CTV News that photographs of the alleged victims found at McArthur's residence led to the charges. [64], Redacted warrants and police documents, partially released by a judge in mid-2018, revealed that in August and September police investigators had obtained production orders compelling the release of data from Google, Rogers Wireless, Bell Canada, Telus, Royal Bank of Canada and Manulife Bank of Canada. [39] Saunders told the community on December 8, "The evidence today tells us there's not a serial killer". 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. [77] He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder[219] and wrote that he is undergoing treatment due to the toll of being blamed for the murders of Esen and Kinsman. [9][18] Henderson fought back before losing consciousness. Despite a thorough, months-long investigation, authorities could not find a single or clear motivating factor behind the attack.