TORONTO – Toronto landscaper Bruce McArthur who was charged with the murder of eight men with links to Toronto’s Gay Village neighbourhood who went missing between 2010 and 2017 pleaded guilty on all counts on Tuesday.
McArthur, 67, was arrested a year ago in connection to the deaths of two men, with police subsequently charging him in six other cases as remains where discovered in plant pots at a property in Toronto’s Leaside area.
Evidence surfaced that detailed how McArthur had set up and photographed the victims, kept momentos and tied up the victims in a way that Crown prosecutor Michael Cantlon described as “sexual in nature”.
The accused was hit with first-degree murder charges that carry automatic life sentences, incarcerating him until the age of 91. His sentencing hearing starts on Feb. 4 when family and friends will give their impact statements.
Seven of those killed had direct ties to the Gay Village neighbourhood and McArthur’s sentencing has been described as the “beginning of the end” of a case that impacted the LGBTQ+ community of Toronto for several years.
(c)Breaking911 – Eli Ridder
