Suspect was once banned from Gay Village
Bruce McArthur, charged with murder, was barred from Church-Wellesley area
Bruce McArthur was barred from an area that included the city’s Gay Village and prohibited from spending time with “male prostitutes” as part of the conditional sentence he received for assaulting a man with a metal pipe almost 15 years ago.
McArthur, 66, is now facing charges of first-degree murder in the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen, both gay men, from the Church and Wellesley Sts. area last year. Police believe there are more victims.
McArthur was previously convicted of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm for an attack that took place on Oct. 31, 2001, court documents show.
On April 11, 2003, McArthur received a conditional sentence of two years less a day (the maximum allowed by law) plus three years’ probation.
Presented with the list of conditions attached to the sentence, a long-time criminal defence lawyer said the judge was likely concerned McArthur could be a danger to all male sex workers.
“They’re probably just not protecting the victim here, if the victim was a male prostitute, they’re protecting all male prostitutes,” said Liam O’Connor, a Toronto lawyer who is not connected to the case.
As part of McArthur’s sentence, except for work or medical appointments, he was ordered to stay away from the area bounded by University Ave. to the west, Bloor St. to the north, Sherbourne St. to the east and College/Carlton to the south — an area that includes the ChurchWellesley Village, heart of the city’s LGBTQ community.
It’s not clear if the conditions lasted beyond two years.
O’Connor said while conditions restricting a person from being in certain areas do happen, they are “uncommon.”
“The only place I see it regularly is in drug convictions where you’re asked to stay out of a particular notorious narcotics dealing area,” he said.
“An educated guess then about that, is the area they’ve asked him to stay out of is an area where there was probably high prostitution.”
The order was likely put in place to protect male sex workers, he added.
McArthur was also ordered to stay at least 10 metres away from 484 Church St., the City Park Co-operative Apartments, or any address known to be the home or workplace of the victim.
He was also ordered not to purchase, possess or consume drugs except with a medical prescription.
Court documents revealed that McArthur was ordered specifically not to possess amyl nitrates or “poppers,” which can serve as muscle relaxants and are sometimes taken before sex.
The sale of poppers isn’t permitted under Canada’s Food and Drug Act without a licence. On its website, Health Canada notes that alkyl nitrites “may pose serious risks.”
He was further ordered to go to counselling, including anger management. He was not allowed to have any firearms, crossbows, ammunition or explosives for 10 years, and was to have a sample of DNA taken and added to a database.
Reached by phone Wednesday, former Toronto police Det. Peter Harmsen, who is listed in the court documents, said he could not recall the arrest, and had not yet made the connection that he’d worked on a case involving McArthur.
Harmsen confirmed the Toronto Police Service had not contacted him, but he said that’s not anything unusual as he believed they would have access to all the historic files and information.
“I think it’s a sad case,” he said of the most recent charges against McArthur.
Police have been investigating McArthur since at least September, when they seized the maroon Dodge Caravan he sold to an auto parts shop just outside of Oshawa.
The address of 484 Church St. may also be connected to the nowdeceased partner of Majeed (Hamid) Kayhan, who was last seen in October 2012. A police task force called Project Houston was created in 2012 to look at the disappearance of Kayhan and two other men who were known to frequent the Church and Wellesley Sts. area.
Cameron Rennie, who has worked as a bartender at Woody’s on Church St. for 24 years, said Kayhan’s partner used to live at the City Park building, and the men were regular customers at the bar.
“He was sort of living a double life,” he said, adding that Kayhan’s family did not know about relationship.
Rennie also said Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam, another one of the missing men in Project Houston, was frequently at the bar, playing pool.
News of McArthur’s arrest has created a “big whirlwind,” Rennie said.
“It’s scary to know that it was someone in your neighbourhood, or someone that you knew. I saw Bruce in the bars years ago, I’ve served him. You don’t want it to be one of your own, but you can’t rule it out.” McArthur was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Jan. 18 in the disappearance of Kinsman, 49, and Esen, 44.
Esen was last seen in the area of Yonge and Bloor Sts. on April14, 2017.
Less than two months later, Kinsman disappeared. He was last seen June 26, 2017 at 71 Winchester St. near Carlton and Parliament Sts. With files from Wendy Gillis, Vjosa Isai and Jaren Kerr