Canada - Bruce McArthur- Pleads Guilty - murders of 8 men, Toronto, 2010-2017 #2

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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
First up is Richard, a friend of Selim Esen, who was McArthur's seventh victim. Describing his worry after Esen disappeared in 2017.
10:03 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Richard says Esen needed a place to express his thoughts, and found it with his friend group.
10:04 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Esen told Richard that he would walk the streets of Toronto when he had nowhere else to go, believing he would find love.
10:05 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"Selim was so entirely vulnerable. He was in such need of some type of connection or expression." Couldn't find it and was struggling.
10:06 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Richard says Esen was convinced something bad was about to happen to him.
10:06 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Up next is Gab Laurence, the manager of St. Stephen's Community House. She says Esen had reached a "turning point" and was on his way to becoming a great peer worker.
10:08 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
2 friends/support workers of victim Selim Esen are reading victim impact statements. "Selim Esen was one of the most compassionate, caring and inquisitive people that we had the pleasure of knowing."
10:09 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Laurence says it is hard to describe the impact Esen's murder had on the people at St. Stephen's. "He cared deeply about the well-being of everyone around him."
10:09 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"We all hoped and hoped that he was taking time away and that he would soon come back to us." That hope slipped away as months went by with no sign of him, Laurence says.
10:10 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"There is nothing more heinous than deliberately seeking out the most vulnerable individuals. Selim was a vulnerable man," -- Gab Laurence
10:11 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"The pain that he produced has no borders," Laurence says of McArthur. Says McArthur took away Esen's hopes and dreams, but not his resilience.
10:12 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Laurence notes McArthur targeted vulnerable and marginalized people.
10:13 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"The homophobia, racism and xenophobia ... fosters the perfect environment for crimes of this nature," Laurence says. Wants court to show that it understands severity of crimes.
10:14 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Crown now reading statements from people who did not wish to read their own. Starting with Jean-Guy Cloutier, a friend of Skandaraj Navaratnam.
10:15 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Cloutier says Navaratnam was his best friend and "left a mark on everybody that he met." "If anyone was in trouble, he would step in to help."
10:16 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Navaratnam was the first of McArthur's victims. McArthur killed him in 2010. He was considered missing for more than seven years.
10:17 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Cloutier was one of the men who reported Navaratnam missing. "Skanda was such a loving person. To have something like this happen to him, it kills me inside."
10:19 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
From best friend of victim Skandaraj Navaratnam: "I hope he did not suffer, and his death was quick. Skanda was such a loving person to have this happen to him, it kills me inside"
10:21 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Now hearing statement from Kareena Faizi, wife of Abdulbasir Faizl.
10:21 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"My daughters suffered terribly knowing what happened to their father. They pretend to be strong when they are in the room with me."
10:22 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Kareena Faizi says she has trouble sleeping and has constant physical pain, feelings of nervousness and weakness. Raising their two daughters on her own and concerned for their safety.
10:23 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Now hearing a statement from Majeed Kayhan's brother. Kayhan was missing for over five years before McArthur was arrested.
10:24 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Brother says he doesn't know if he can describe the pain McArthur has put his family through.
10:25 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"This statement ... can never represent the true pain and suffering that me and my family members have suffered and continue to suffer."
10:26 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Brother says he is now missing more days of work due to stress. Also discusses financial impact to Kayhan family because of missed work, counseling, etc.
10:27 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Now hearing statement from the wife of Soroush Mahmudi, who McArthur killed in 2015. They married in 2003. She reported him missing.
10:28 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Mahmusi's wife says she fainted when police told her her husband had been killed. "Overwhelmed with grief" and unable to eat or sleep since.
10:29 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Says she suffered "serious psychological trauma and lost her job while mourning her husband. "My pain and suffering will always be there as long as I live."
10:31 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Wants the court to consider her ongoing pain and suffering when sentencing McArthur.
10:31 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
From Umme Fareena Marzook, wife of victim Soroush Mahmudi: "I have been having terrible nightmares every night and I constantly wake up sweating and crying." She asking the judge to contemplate her pain and suffering when considering Bruce McArthur's sentence
10:33 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Says she is using the food bank and sometimes goes without food. Without her husband and having lost her job, she has had trouble accessing therapy due to her financial situation.
10:33 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
From Jalil Kayhan, brother of Majeed Kayhan: "I still have not comprehended how this crime happened and it consumes the majority of my thoughts."
10:34 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Next statement is being delivered in person by a friend of Kanagaratnam. They arrived in Canada together as refugees from Sri Lanka. Believed they would be safer here.
10:38 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"There is no safety for us anywhere in the world," the friend says.
10:39 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Court on break. Resuming at 11:10 with the final four or five impact statements.
10:41 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Back in session with a victim impact statement from Dean Lisowick's cousin Julie. We heard from his daughter yesterday.
11:09 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Julie says she never uses McArthur's name, but he is now as familiar as "the waiter from lunch -- he is the guy who killed my cousin."
11:10 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Dean was livng on the streets of Toronto. Julie says when she last saw him, he wanted to get his life together and buy an e-bike for his daughter.
11:12 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"I have so many thing to say, but nothing seems adequate," Julie says. Wants to see her cousin's smile again. She's been plagued by nightmares since his death.
11:13 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Julie says she now feels afraid of gay men, especially if they use drugs. "This makes me feel like a bigot and a homophobe, and that is not who I am and I am ashamed to be feeling that."
11:15 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
From Dean Lisowick's cousin Julie Pearo: "With Dean's death I feel emotionally paralyzed because I have nowhere to put this in my brain. My cousin was murdered and what do I do with that?"
11:16 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
She fears she will see Lisowick's photo on TV or on the internet in an ad for a true crime show.
11:16 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"I just want to hug and and be huffed by him. Laugh, scheme, reminisce, grow old," Julie concludes.
11:17 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown now reading victim impact statement of Jerry Montati, Lisowick's uncle. I may have the spelling wrong on the names of the speakers.
11:18 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Montanti describes his nephew as loving and artistic. Says his mental health issues took over shortly after his daughter was born in 1994.
11:20 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"Dean will be missed. With proper treatment Dean's life could have been turned around, but that opportunity has been taken away from him."
11:21 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown now reading statement from one of Kanagaratnam's sisters. "I am feeling terribly angry, and my inspiration for living turned to anxiety."
11:22 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"I don't want to live in this world which became so terribly cruel," her statement concludes.

11:23 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Now we're hearing the statement of Andrew Kinsman's youngest sister, Shelley. Describes him as a "counselor and confidant" to her.
11:24 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Talking about Andrew Konsman going to Disney World as a 12-year-old. What he liked most was a secondhand store.
11:25 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"Although I've been robbed of my brother ... the greatest tragedy is that society has been deprived of an extraordinary, quirky and caring individual who did make a difference."
11:26 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Thanks for all the updates YesorNo!

These people, the families of the victims should be compensated for therapy, loss of jobs, support of children, travel expenses ect. imo.
 
Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Last statement is on behalf of the South Asian and Middle Eastern LGBTQ community, and Toronto's South Asian and Middle Eastern community more generally.
11:27 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Statement describes Church and Wellesley Village as a "beacon of safety" for people who are marginalized. Says that started to change as the disappearances added up, and more so after McArthur's crimes came to light.
11:29 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Describing McArthur as "jovial" and showing interest in people. Many in Toronto's LGBTQ community now worry that the nice person they meet may secretly be a killer.
11:31 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"If there was one in our community, there could be others," the group's statement concludes.
11:32 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown has now filed all of its evidence toward sentencing. Defence has no evidence to file. Moving to Crown's sentencing submission.
11:37 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown says serial killer is a "woefully inadequate" term to describe the seriousness of McArthur's crimes.
11:37 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
Crown beginning submissions. Says the term "serial killer" is "woefully inadequate" to describe the moral blameworthiness and heinousness of McArthur's acts. Says he is a sexual predator. He preyed on his friends, on the vulnerable.
11:38 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown pointing to McArthur's targeting of victims, staging and photographing of them after killing them, and effects his crimes had on a vulnerable community.
11:39 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV
Crown says 6 of the 8 counts of murder are eligible for consecutive sentences. Asks the judge not to be lenient.
11:40 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown: "The enormity of Mr. McArthur's crimes is unique even among those who commit multiple murders."
11:40 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Maximum possible sentence is 150 years before McArthur can apply for parole. The first two murders cannot be sentenced consecutively due to a law change made after the deaths occurred.
11:41 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Asked if McArthur's guilty plea should affect his sentence, the Crown says the magnitude of his crimes should matter more. "Ultimately ... they grossly outweigh the value that can be attached to his guilty pleas."
11:43 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV

Crown arguing that the enormity of McArthur's crimes outweigh the fact he pleaded guilty
11:44 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Crown says judge should send strong message focused on retribution, denunciation and deterrence.
11:44 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

"His moral blameworthiness is as great as any offender this court has seen," Crown says.
11:46 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Crown says 25-year parole eligibility would treat McArthur the same as people who commit one murder and leave open possibility he could receive parole.
11:47 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan

Crown's submission is for 50 years before McArthur can apply for parole. McArthur is 67 years old and has been in custody for a little over a year.
11:48 AM - 05 Feb 2019


Tracy Tong
@TracyTongCTV

Crown Craig Harper seeking parole eligibility in 50 years for McArthur
11:49 AM - 05 Feb 2019
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Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown notes that McArthur's 2003 convictions for assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon (for which he was pardoned) show a further history of violence, as does the 2016 incident in which a man escaped McArthur's attempt to choke him.
12:04 PM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
"He was literally found with a man tied to his bed," the Crown notes, referencing the man he was attacking at the moment police moved in and arrested him.
12:05 PM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Judge again asks Crown about McArthur's guilty plea. Crown says it shows remorse but should not be considered a character trait.
12:06 PM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
Crown says defence will likely try to compare McArthur's case to that of serial killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who pleaded guilty and was given concurrent sentences.
12:08 PM - 05 Feb 2019


Ryan Flanagan
@flanaganryan
The difference, the Crown says, is that Wettlaufer confessed to a number of people, and then to police. McArthur had to be caught.
12:09 PM - 05 Feb 2019
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Its amazing how LE used vehicle registration to narrow down to 5 people with his first name that owned vans like he had. Getting that video of the last victim getting into that van was key to solving the case. They got his first name from an entry that the last victim had in his records. So they had a clue that someone with that first name may be responsible. Then when they got the video of the van they found all vans like the one in the video that were registered to people with that first name.

I hope LE has learned a lesson to listen to people more when they suspect of a serial killer. All the signs were there that there was a predator and killer of LGBT community members. Sounds like LE ignored the warnings for years.

Bruce McArthur, Toronto’s Accused Landscaper Killer, Was Hiding in Plain Sight All Along
 
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Ive only heard of the summary of this case until today when I read through some of the details.

Wow. I had no idea the last person with him likely would have been killed if LE had not already been monitoring him and arrested him that day.

"Police, who were still awaiting judicial authorization on all of their warrants, moved in. According to the Toronto Star, they found a young man “bound, restrained to a bed, but unharmed.”

Bruce McArthur, Toronto’s Accused Landscaper Killer, Was Hiding in Plain Sight All Along
 

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