National Post (National Edition)
Probe opens into earlier investigation
investigation, Idsinga said, clarifying that when police are investigating missing persons cases the people they interview are called witnesses.
Idsinga took issue with reports in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail Wednesday about the interviews police reportedly conducted with McArthur.
“What I’ve taken some exception to this morning is their erroneous branding to someone who’s a witness in a missing persons case,” he said. “They’re almost alluding to the fact that we’d haul someone into a police station to interrogate or interview them and then release them as if they’re in custody.”
Responding to fears expressed by the city’s LGBTQ community that police knew of McArthur early on and let him slip away, Idsinga said police need to meet a high threshold of evidence in order to reach reasonable and probable grounds to make an arrest.
“In 2012, we have some evidence that (the suspect) murdered Navaratnam. If we had gone out and arrested that person, we would’ve been wrong,” said Idsinga, noting it took six months just to eliminate the possibility.
Without a suspect or any other evidence, Project Houston shut down. But when Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen went missing in quick succession between April and June, 2017, Project Prism was created. In November police found evidence that suggested Kinsman’s disappearance involved foul play and McArthur became a suspect. Though as Idsinga pointed out, he wasn’t a “strong suspect” yet.
On Jan. 17, police say they found evidence that strongly suggested Esen and Kinsman were murdered. A day later, McArthur was arrested. He has since also been charged with the murders of Kayhan, Dean Lisowick and Soroush Mahmudi.
The length of time McArthur has allegedly been operating in Toronto — the earliest alleged murder linked to him took place in 2010 — concerns Idsinga as it does the LGBTQ community. Despite the internal investigation, the blame should be targeted in one direction, he said. “Ultimately the person to blame is Bruce McArthur,” he said. “It’s not the community, it’s not the Toronto Police Service. It’s Bruce McArthur.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory said he’ll support a motion at the next Toronto Police Services Board meeting for an independent external review of how the police handle missing persons cases. In a statement, Tory also said he’ll be asking the province to hold a public inquiry “at the close of any criminal proceedings.”