Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur charged with eighth murder
Bruce McArthur has been charged with killing an eighth gay man in Toronto.
McArthur, who stands accused of committing murders spanning 2012-2018, has been charged with the murder of Sri Lankan man Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam.
Kanagaratnam, who was 37 when he died, arrived in Canada in 2010, and was not on file as missing.
Kanagaratnam arrived in the country as a refugee claimant but when his bid was rejected, his family believed that he had gone into hiding, reports The Globe and The Mail.
His remains were identified in the garden of the property where McArthur stored his landscape tools and remains of other victims, reported the Canadian publication.
Police believe Kanagaratnam was killed sometime between 3 September and 14 December 2015, reports the BBC.
Bruce McArthur
Head of the investigation Chief Mark Saunders has agreed to launch an independent review into why it took the police force so long to identify the killer, as well as the pattern of missing gay men, who to date, are either immigrants or homeless people.
Toronto’s LGBT+ community have requested that the police do not participate in Pride celebrations, and start finding answers as to why McArthur was alleged to continue the attacks at such a significant rate.
“For Toronto’s LGBTQ community, this has been a very difficult time and I know that many are very upset and many are still grieving,” Saunders said.
“They have many questions about what happened and what could have been done differently.”
As Kanagaratnam does not fit the standard victim profile – he is not associated with Toronto Village – a spate of concerned relatives have been getting in touch with the police to query if their missing loved one has been a victim of the suspected serial killer.
“This does create basically a wide open net,” Detective Sergeant Idsinga said to The Globe and Mail.
“We’ve had lots of calls, international calls, since our pleas began, from people who just haven’t seen family members for years.”
So far, Abdulbasir “Basir” Faizi, Majeed “Hamid” Kayhan, Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick have been confirmed as victims of the alleged killer.
Idsinga said investigators are looking into 15 other cold cases dating back to 1975, but have not found a connection, reported The Guardian.
Mr McArthur has yet to enter a plea in any of the charges.
