Gay Village Serial Killer ~ The Case of Bruce McArthur Conclusion
Abdulbasir "Basir" Faizi, 42, last seen December 28, 2010.
Majeed "Hamid' Kayhan, 58, last seen October 18, 2012
Skandaraj "Skanda" Navaratnam, 40, last seen September 6, 2010
Soroush Mahmudi, 50, last seen August 12, 2016
Andrew Kinsman, 49, last seen June 26, 2017
Selim Esen, 44, March 20, 2017
Dean Lisowick, 43/44, last seen April 20, 2016
Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, 37 August 2015
.jpg)
In January, 2018 the judge issued a publication ban on the trial, so us, the public, were very limited on what was revealed in the court room.
Bruce McArthur remained in custody, but was placed into protective custody (PC) because he needed to be under suicide watch.
There seemed to be a bit of a mix up, or the prosecutor was delaying things, because it wasn't until Bruce's third appearance in court that defense attorneys revealed they have not been given any disclosure... Leaving prosecutor aka crown attorney Mike Cantlon to explain that his office only received the disclosure from TPS on February 13, and they were still going through it themselves. This went on for months until June 22, when the crown attorney's office declared they have released all of the disclosed evidence.
There was a closed door meeting about pre-trial, where there were arguments that the crown should sever all the charges as this will be a long and complicated trial, which will cause a heavy burden on the jury; which could create a mistrial. These discussions were on-going, until October 22, 2018, when Bruce McArthur, himself, appeared in court and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He contested the charges, but the courts decided he was to be tried for eight counts of first degree murder.
On November 5th, Bruce had his first appearance in the Superior Court of Justice, with Justice John McMahon presiding. McMahon reminded the court that there was a ruling back in 2016 that stated the trial needed to be concluded before August 2020.
Court was to begin on January 6, 2019, and it was implied that the trial would last three to four months. On January 28, 2019, the Toronto Police Service revealed to the public that there was a significant development in the case ad it would be revealed the following day. The public and media who were so desperate for information on the case, were lining up outside the courthouse by 6am the next day; even though they had just gotten a huge snowstorm. This overwhelming interest caused the hearing to be moved into the largest courtroom possible.
On January 29th, Bruce McArthur pled guilty to all eight charges of first-degree murder. This put the end to any trial that could have been. His sentencing hearing began on February 4th. It needs to be noted that in 2011 there was a change to the criminal code in Canada, it permits a judge to order that if the guilty party has ineligible periods to be served consecutively, after that year; which meant that Bruce still had the sentencing for the murders he committed prior to this ruling in 2011. Six of his crimes were after the date, but 2 were not.
The Crown asked that he get 50 years without the possibilty of parole for those 50 years; claiming how atrocious his crimes where and the fact that he showed zero remorse for his actions.
Ultimately, on Feburary 8th, 2019, Justice McMahon sentenced Bruce McArthur to life in prison, without the possibility of parole for 25 years. The Judge is cited as saying that Bruce showed no remorse and he was pure evil, and had he not been apprehended, he would have continued killing. Justice McMahon also felt this sentence should not be one given out of vengeance because of Bruce's age. He would be eligible for his first chance at parole when he is 91, and given that he is overweight and has Type 2 diabetes, it was unlikely he'd live long enough to even see that parole date!!!
Aftermath: There was a controversy on how the police handled the case, and that they were very indifferent when it came to this case because it was about the gay community; they claimed the police to be racist and prejudice towards the homeless. They also were accused of victim blaming from the way they spoke at press conferences. Rallies were positioned in front of police headquarters, demanding that TPS Chief Mark Saunders should resign. He did not resign, however he did issue a public apology for his comments.
Many more people came forward with the assaults Bruce McArthur had done to them. Some officers careers were affected by their lack of taking some complaints seriously. Some asasults were reported to different police districts, but none of them were taking seriously nor even noted; and the Toronto Police that were running the projects in finding their killer, had no knowledge of these incidents until after they had captured Bruce McArthur.
Some officers, including Sgt. Paul Gauthier was charged with insubordination and neglect of duty. He failed to report a domestic violence case; nor did he take photos or video of the victim's injuries. After 15 years of service and high praise for working on difficult cases like human trafficking... this seemed a bit off for him and his career; and I tend to believe with others that he was simply the scapegoat for others.
Gauthier didn't go to the tribunal meeting because he was dealing with PTSD from all the blame being placed solely on his shoulders. On August 23, 2021 he was found not guilty of the charges laid on him.
There are many more issues that came forward as a result of this case... too many to list, but they all are about the same thing... people are blaming the police for their lack of compassion, understanding and action. Prejudice and Racist... something that will always be in the minds of people who are victims or their loved ones. I was not behind closed doors, nor do I know the mind of all the officers involved; but this case seems pretty complicated from beginning to end; at the end of the day, the only person truly responsible and guilty is the one sitting behind bars.
I offer my condolences to all the families and loved ones who had to deal with this monster taking away someone important to them. I hope they all can find some peace.
~Phoenix
Comments
Post a Comment