Canadian serial killer accused of murdering Turk to stand trial in 2020

TORONTO - AFP

An accused Canadian serial killer will stand trial on January 6, 2020 for the premeditated murders of eight men with ties to Toronto’s gay village, a judge ordered Friday.

Bruce McArthur, a 67-year-old self-employed landscaper, was charged earlier this year after coming under suspicion in a probe into missing persons.

Body parts of seven of the victims were found hidden inside large planters that McArthur stored at a client’s home in midtown Toronto.

The remains of an eighth victim were later discovered in a ravine behind the property.

Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga, the lead investigator, said the forensic probe into the killings was Toronto’s largest ever.

Excavations or searches were carried out at more than 75 properties in the Toronto area where McArthur had done landscaping work.

Police also looked at 15 cold cases dating back to 1975 for possible links to the accused, before Idsinga concluded it was unlikely more victims would be uncovered.

The victims in the case were McArthur’s former lover, two Afghan immigrants, two refugees from Sri Lanka and another from Iran, a Turkish national, and a homeless sex worker.