Crimes were ‘pure evil,’ judge says,
Serial killer sentenced to 25 years without parole has shown ‘no remorse’
He is a “morally bankrupt” and “highly dangerous” serial killer, a murderer who preyed upon society’s vulnerable, and whose crimes have inflicted a “nightmare” on so many: family members and friends, Toronto’s LGBTQ community, refugees and immigrants, the city as a whole.
“The outrage and upset and the fear caused by the accused is felt by all,” said Ontario Superior Court judge John McMahon, reading from his reasons for sentencing inside a full courtroom Friday.
The distrust he sowed “continues to this day,” McMahon said, and he has shown “no remorse.”
In a ruling that laid bare the horrific impact of the serial killer’s crimes, and characterized his behaviour as “pure evil,” “perverted” and “depraved,” McMahon sentenced Bruce McArthur, 67, to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, after convicting him of eight counts of first-degree murder.
The serial killer will almost certainly die in jail. He will be 91 when he becomes eligible for parole, and, even if he is still alive, “due to the savage nature of the killings, it is highly unlikely” he’d ever be granted parole, McMahon said.
“Let’s be honest here: I do not see Mr. McArthur seeing daylight,” said Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders, at a press conference held shortly after McMahon’s ruling came down.
“If he were to be paroled, then we’d have to start questioning our sentencing in this country.”
The sentence, criticized by some as being too lenient, brings partial closure to a tragic case, just over a year after McArthur, a grandfather and self-employed landscaper, was arrested suddenly in January 2018. McMahon heaped praise on Toronto police for the investigation that led up to that day, which included saving the life of “John,” the man McArthur had handcuffed in his room at the time of the arrest, a result of the round-the-clock surveillance McArthur had been under at the time.
“I have no hesitation in concluding that, if it were not for the police intervention on Jan- uary 18, 2018, John would have been the ninth victim of Mr. McArthur,” McMahon said in the reasons he gave for the sentencing.
At a press conference, Saunders acknowledged Friday’s decision is not the end of the case. Police were questioned about past contacts with McArthur, and why the killer, who killed his victims over a seven-year span, beginning in 2010, was not caught sooner.
“I do believe that the public has some questions,” said Saunders.
Citing the continuing review by former court of appeal judge Gloria Epstein into how police investigate the case of missing persons, Saunders said he was committed to transparency when it comes to scrutiny of the lengthy investigation into McArthur.
The serial killer was interviewed by police twice, in 2013 and in 2016, since he began his murderous spree.
Epstein has asked to expand her mandate to review the McArthur investigation.
But many within the city’s LGBTQ community are calling for a public inquiry. Saunders says he’s open to it. “Whatever form it will take, I will be glad to bring in our team, our investigators, our evidence, when we knew, what we know, what we did and why we did it,” he said.
Saunders added that the case, more than any other, shows why the service has to “continually evolve … to get better at what we do through improved policies, procedures, training or any other thing.”
The lead detectives on the case, Det. David Dickinson and Insp. Hank Idsinga, told reporters the sentencing brought some closure to them after what was the largest forensic investigation in the force’s history.
“We never expect to see Mr. McArthur in public again,” Idsinga said.
McArthur faced an automatic life sentence. McMahon’s decision amounted to how long he would have to wait before becoming eligible for parole.
It was “a distinction without a difference,” McMahon said, due to McArthur’s age and the virtually non-existent chance he’d get parole.
Strong mitigating factors in the sentencing decision, McMahon said, were the killer’s decision to take responsibility, by first waiving a preliminary hearing, then pleading guilty, so avoiding a lengthy trial that would lay bare McArthur’s murders in horrific detail.
“(McArthur) has saved the victims’ families, friends and the community at large from enduring a graphic public trial which would have been a nightmare for everyone,” McMahon said.
“Graphic digital photos staged of victims post mortem and disturbing forensic pathology evidence. Four months of gruesome evidence. I have no doubt some, if not all of the jury and court staff, would be in need of counselling at the end of the day to deal with it,” he said.
The sentencing hearing earlier in the week saw a fulsome agreed statement of facts read out in court. It set out the manner and location of McArthur’s murders and provided details on how he posed and photographed his victims after their death.
The existence of the photos, and evidence that he revisited these showed they were for McArthur’s own “perverted sexual gratification,” McMahon said.
Crown prosecutors on the case released a statement Friday saying they would not be commenting on the serial killer’s sentence, but called the McArthur case a “crime of stark horror.”
“Although there can be no closure from a crime of this magnitude, we hope that these eight convictions … will assist our community in beginning a new chapter of healing.
McArthur pled guilty in court late last month to murdering eight men, who had ties to Toronto’s Gay Village: 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.
While many friends and family of the victims chose not to comment after the sentencing, some said no sentence the court could impose would be suitable.
“Having a life sentence isn’t enough,” said Nicole Borthwick, who was friends with three of McArthur’s victims. “This community is broken and it will be broken for a long, long time.”
Assisted by a friend of his, Kanagaratnam’s family said they were hoping McArthur would never be able to leave prison.
“Ultimately, there is really no sentence that is going to bring peace to the losses that occurred in the community. So it’s really a bittersweet ending for everyone,” said Gab Laurence, manager of community initiatives at St. Stephen’s Community House, where McArthur’s seventh victim, Esen, was training to become a peer support worker.
While McMahon detailed the horrific impact the crimes have had on the city’s LGBTQ community, he noted there were “harbingers” that the community “is both strong and resilient.”
Laurence echoed that sentiment, saying it would be easy, given the circumstances, “to live with distrust for the rest of your life.”
“But, then, when you kind of zero in, and think about the kind of person Selim was, so caring and so trustworthy, himself, I think he is a reminder that we can still make connections and communities and find people who are genuinely loving.”
“I do not see Mr. McArthur seeing daylight. If he were to be paroled, then we’d have to start questioning our sentencing in this country.” MARK SAUNDERS TORONTO POLICE CHIEF