Police confirm they have found remains belonging to Skandaraj ‘Skanda’ Navaratnam (above) and have charged Bruce McArthur with his murder (Photo: Toronto Police Department)
Bruce McArthur has been charged on a sixth count of murder. This follows five previous first-degree murder charges.
Homicide Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga of Toronto police yesterday gave an update on the investigation into McArthur.
The Toronto landscaper and gardener, 66, was taken into custody on 18 January. He was later charged with the murders of two men, although at the time no bodies has been discovered.
Bruce McArthur (Photo: Bruce McArthur | Facebook)
Police then set about searching all properties connected with McArthur, including places where he had worked. They subsequently found remains of six people buried in planters at a Mallory Crescent home where he had worked.
Through fingerprints, they were able to quickly identify one set of remains as belonging to a local gay man who went missing last summer: Andrew Kinsman.
Kinsman was one of the two murder charges initially leveled at McArthur. The other was 44-year-old Selim Esen, who also went missing last year.
‘Skanda’ Navaratnam
Earlier this month, police charged McArthur with three further murders: Soroush Marmudi, Majeed Kayhan and Dead Lisowick.
Yesterday, at a press conference, D/Sgt Idsinga announced that McArthur had also now been charged with the murder of Skandaraj ‘Skanda’ Navaratnam.
The 40-year-old went missing in 2010. He was last seen leaving gay bar Zipperz (now closed) with another man.
Friends of Navaratnam say he had been involved with McArthur, and the landscaper’s Facebook profile (removed following his arrest), had Navaratnam listed as a friend.
Police are continuing in their efforts to identify the other remains found. The are also examining around 20 further planters.
They are re-investigating reports of other missing people from the last few years, in case there is a link to McArthur. Idsinga appealed to anyone that might have any information to contact police.
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Sneakers
In a separate development, the admin of the Facebook group, Toronto’s Missing Rainbow Community members, yesterday posted a further appeal.
‘From about 1997 to 2005 there was a gay bar on Yonge St. called Sneakers,’ posted Greg Downer. ‘I’ve come to know McArthur was a customer there.
‘There were many street involved male youth there who potentially didn’t have great connections to family, community and friends and had any gone missing it may have been much harder to know.
‘If you knew of guys, any street involved male youth, who patronized Sneakers during that approx time frame and disappeared without a trace, never to be heard from again, I’d encourage you to contact the Toronto Police Homicide Squad with their names.
‘This was a time before smartphones, and Facebook and emails and all those connections McArthur potentially made with vulnerable guys was in an in person world, all of that potential history can’t be found on the WWW and is only known by those who worked at or patronized Sneakers and know of guys who may have gone missing from as far back as the late 90s.
‘There may be guys out there that actually have relevant information they are not aware of that could be a huge help to Police.’
The phone number for Toronto Police Homicide Squad is +1-416-808-7400. Toronto Crime Stoppers is +1-416-222-8477.
See also
Canada’s suspected gay killer also had a relationship with a man who disappeared in 2010
