Eighth murder charge against accused serial killer Bruce McArthur

By

Accused serial killer Bruce McArthur has been charged with an eighth count of first-degree murder.

The charge is related to the death of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, who was identified after Toronto police released a photo of a dead man in early March.

Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said at the time that releasing the photo was a “last resort.” Investigators did not say when the photograph was taken or how investigators found it.

On Monday, police announced that the seventh set of human remains found at the home on Malorie Crescent where McArthur worked as a landscaper were those of Kanagaratnam.

“While we are saddened, we are also tremendously proud and relieved to have been able to bring closure to the friends and family of Mr. Kanagaratnam and the seven other victims,” Idsinga told the media during a press conference.

Idsinga said Kanagaratnam has family living in Canada but was not on file as a missing person. Idsinga said the man’s identification was confirmed by an international government agency but would not go into specifics about what outside channels police were using in their investigation.

However, Idsinga admitted that Kanagaratnam’s was not identified through the tips submitted by the public and he was not on their radar before last week.

McArthur’s latest alleged victim breaks the mold as police don’t believe Kanagaratnam was part of the LGBTQ community in Toronto, nor do they believe he frequented the shelter system.

“He doesn’t quite fit the profile that we’ve seen before,” Idsinga explained.

“Even with Mr. Lisowick, we didn’t have any direct connection right off the bat but eventually we did find a connection. Whether that comes true with Mr. Kanagaratnam or not, I just don’t know yet.”

It’s believed Kanagaratnam was killed between Sept. 3 and Dec. 14 2015.

 

Last week, police added a seventh charge of first-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Abdulbasir Faizi, who disappeared from Toronto’s gay village in 2010.

McArthur was arrested in January and charged with the murders of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen, who went missing from the village in 2017. Later that month, McArthur was charged with the murders of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, and Dean Lisowick. In February, he was charged in the death of Skandaraj Navaratnam.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today