Bruce McArthur, 66, was charged with a seventh murder on Wednesday in Toronto
An accused Canadian serial killer has been charged with a seventh count of murder.
Bruce McArthur, 66, appeared in a Toronto courtroom by video link on Wednesday to be charged with first-degree murder in the death of Abdulbasir Faizi, who disappeared in 2010.
It is the latest charge against McArthur since his arrest in January. Police say he trolled bars in Toronto’s ‘Gay Village’ and gay dating apps for victims, predominantly targeting Muslim men from South Asia or the Middle East.
An assistant machine operator at a printing company, 44-year-old Afghanistan native Faizi went missing on December 29, 2010.
Trying to determine why, his Muslim family accessed his computer and was shocked to discover he had been secretly going to bathhouses in the Gay Village and was on gay dating apps for older and large men.
Abdulbasir Faizi, an Afghan immigrant who worked as a machine operator, went missing on December 29, 2010. Alleged serial killer McArthur has now been charged with his murder
In this artist’s sketch, McArthur makes an appearance via video in a Toronto courtroom on Wednesday. He spoke only to say his name and acknowledge that he understood the charges
Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga speaks to the media regarding updates to the Bruce McArthur case during a press conference at the Toronto Police Headquarters on Wednesday
When Faizi’s family went to police, officers suggested he had probably just left, a relative said. His car was found a short distance from the house McArthur used as storage.
Faizi’s wife divorced him, thinking he abandoned her and their two young daughters.
‘She didn’t know. He wasn’t out. As far as she knows they were married and they were happy and he abandoned her and the daughters,’ said a female relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of permission from the family to speak publicly.
‘For me at least there’s a sense of relief because he didn’t abandon anyone. He didn’t run away,’ she said of the charges filed on Wednesday.
Though cameras were barred from the courtroom, a sketch artist captured McArthur wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. He spoke in court only to say his name and acknowledge that he understood the charges against him.
McArthur has been held since January 18, when he was arrested and initially charged with the murders of Andrew Kinsman, 49, and Selim Esen, 44
The dismembered remains of all the named victims except for Kayhan were found in flower planters in this residential backyard, where McArthur stored landscaping equipment
At a press conference on Wednesday that was broadcast online, Homicide Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga revealed other new developments in the case.
Three additional positive identifications have been made on the seven sets of human remains recovered in large planters at a home where McArther, a self-employed landscaper, stored work materials.
The newly identified remains were those of Faizi, Essen and Dean Lisowick, a 43-year-old homeless man whose murder McArther has already been charged with.
Forensic specialists had previously identified three sets of remains from the planters: Kinsman; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; and Skandaraj ‘Skanda’ Navaratnam, 40.
A seventh victim, 58-year-old Majeed Kayhan, was not linked to the remains from the planters, but McArthur has also been charged with his murder. Police have not publicly revealed if or whether Kayhan’s remains were found.
Idsinga said there was ‘at least’ one more set of remains from the planters that had yet to be identified.
Last month, cops released a forensic sketch of that unidentified victim, who would now be the eighth. An improved version of the sketch was released Wednesday.
Police are seeking the identity of this victim, releasing an updated forensic sketch Wednesday
McArthur has been held since his arrest on January 18. Cops are preparing to search some 75 properties where he worked as a landscaper when the ground thaws in early May
After three months, forensic technicians are still searching McArthur’s apartment (pictured). ‘We’ve quite frankly never seen anything like it,’ Idsinga said of the evidence inside
The detective sergeant said that hundreds of callers had generated about 70 possible identities for the unidentified victim, 22 of which had yet to be excluded.
He went on to say that the homicide squad was reviewing 15 cold cases for potential links to McArthur, spanning from 1975 to 1997.
Idsinga went on to reveal that forensic officers are still working in McArthur’s apartment, and hinted at chilling discoveries inside.
‘We’ve quite frankly never seen anything like it,’ he said of the evidence recovered from the apartment. ‘It’s easily set the record for forensic investigation of an apartment.’
Forensic techs are still combing over the apartment ‘inch by inch’ including the ‘floors, ceiling, walls, furniture, inside furniture, dresser drawers’.
‘We have quite a few exhibits coming out of it,’ he said, declining to offer further details and saying the evidence would be revealed at trial.
As spring breaks in Toronto and the ground thaws, police expect to visit some 75 properties where McArthur worked as a landscaper to search for additional remains. The searches are set to begin in early May.
WHO WERE THE VICTIMS OF TORONTO SERIAL KILLER
Toronto landscaper Bruce McArthur, 66, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of seven men. Police fear there may be even more victims yet to be uncovered.
Skandaraj ‘Skanda’ Navaratnam, 40
Reported missing on September 16, 2010.
A refugee from Sri Lanka, he was last seen leaving Zipperz, a now closed gay bar in Toronto.
Friends said McArthur employed and had a sexual relationship with Navaratnam.
Abdulbasir Faizi, 44
Last seen leaving his workplace at about 7pm on December 28, 2010. His last known location was in the area of Church and Wellesley Streets.
An immigrant from Afghanistan, Fazi worked as a machine operator at a printing company.
He was married with children but secretly used gay dating apps for older and large men.
Majeed Kayhan, 58
Reported missing on October 25, 2012.
An immigrant from Afghanistan who frequented bars in the Gay Village near Church and Wellesley Streets.
His remains were not found in the flower planters with the other victims.
Soroush Marmudi, 50
Reported missing by his family in Scarborough in August 2015.
Marmudi was not known to openly associate with Toronto’s gay scene.
Dean Lisowick, 43
A homeless occupant of the shelter system who had not been reported missing when his remains were discovered.
Police believe he was murdered in April of 2016.
Selim Esen, 44
Last seen April 14, 2017 in the Yonge and Bloor area.
A Turkish native, he frequented the Gay Village area and Kensington Market and often had a small plastic suitcase on wheels similar to a carry-on bag.
His relationship with McArthur is unclear.
Andrew Kinsman, 49
Last seen June 26, 2017 at 71 Winchester Street.
Friends begin posting his image in the area and surrounding neighborhoods soon after he disappeared.
Police believe he had a sexual relationship with McArthur.
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