MCARTHUR CASE

Investigators continue to probe alleged killer’s background for possible clues to cold cases

The alleged serial killer could head to trial in less than a year,

Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of eight men, could head to trial in less than a year.

Wearing jeans, a blue dress shirt and a navy sweater, McArthur, 67, walked into the courtroom handcuffed, briefly glancing into the court gallery but otherwise staring directly ahead, toward Justice John McMahon.

It was McArthur’s first time appearing in Ontario’s Superior Court, following his move last month in a lower court to waive his right to a preliminary hearing.

During the brief appearance, McMahon explained the trial scheduling process to McArthur, telling him the next step is a judicial pretrial, which was set for Nov. 30.

The judge also explained to McArthur that a judicial pretrial is a meeting between the judge, Crown and defence lawyers to discuss various issues, including a possible resolution to a case.

McMahon told a representative for McArthur’s lawyer and Crown Michael Cantlon that he was available for a trial as early as September 2019 or the following January. A date for trial has not been set. Cantlon told McMahon he was working on an outline that will detail the chronology of the case, to help the court through the pretrial.

McArthur, a self-employed landscaper, is charged in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 58; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40, Abdulbasir Faizi, 42, and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam, 37.

He was arrested at his Thorncliffe Park Dr. apartment in January and is accused of committing the murders between 2010 and 2017.

All of his alleged victims have ties to the Church and Wellesley community, To- ronto’s Gay Village.

McArthur’s decision last month to waive his right to a preliminary hearing speeds up the court process, eliminating a pretrial that would have required the presentation of evidence, including witness testimony.

Toronto police Det. David Dickinson, one of the homicide detectives on the case, told reporters last month he was happy the process has been sped up for the witnesses and the victims’ families.

A small team of investigators are continuing to examine McArthur’s background and determine whether there may be any links to cold cases, but no connections have been have been established, Dickinson said.