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Friends, relatives of victims to speak at McArthur sentencing hearing today

The eight killing took place between 2010-2017
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Defence lawyer James Miglin, left to right, Justice John McMahon, court registrar, Bruce McArthur, Crown Attorney Michael Cantlon, Detective Hank Idsinga, and friends and family of victims, back right, are shown in this court sketch in Toronto on Tuesday, January 29, 2019. (Alexandra Newbould/The Canadian Press)

A sentencing hearing continues today for Bruce McArthur, a serial killer who preyed on men from Toronto’s gay village for years before he was arrested.

Friends and relatives of McArthur’s eight victims are expected to continue reading their victim impact statements.

Many wept in court Monday as prosecutors provided previously unheard details of the killings, which took place between 2010 and 2017.

READ MORE: Police arrested McArthur moments before he may have killed again

Crown attorney Michael Cantlon told the court McArthur took photographs of his victims’ bodies posed in various states of undress and kept the images on his computer.

Court heard McArthur would then dismember his victims and dump their remains in planters around a residential property in midtown Toronto, where he stored his landscaping equipment, or in a ravine behind the home.

Police arrested McArthur in January 2018 and charged him for the murders of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen. They later charged McArthur for the murders of Majeed Kayhan, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushna Kanagaratnam.

He pleaded guilty last week to eight counts of first-degree murder.

Toronto police have faced criticism for how they investigated the eight men’s disappearances, with some saying the force ignored the LGTBQ’s concerns about a possible serial killer.

The Canadian Press


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