Grisly portrait of McArthur's crimes emerges at sentencing hearing

The first day of Bruce McArthur's sentencing hearing in Torontorevealed nightmarish new details about how the self-employed landscaper killed his eight victims.

The hearing, which began Monday morning and is expected to last three days, comes just days after the 67-year-oldpleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder.

While Crown attorney Michael Cantlonread the agreed statement of facts to a silent courtroom, a gaunt McArthur stared straight ahead.

"For years, members of the LGBTQ community in Toronto believed they were being targeted by a killer," Cantlonbegan. "They were right."

He then reada detailed account into what police uncovered in their investigation of McArthur, telling the court that police found most of the murders were facilitated under the pretext of sex.

Cantlonsaid there is evidence victims were restrained and sexually assaulted, and McArthur would frequently pose and photograph them after they had been killed.

As he described the photographs andnamed each victim, Cantlon became visibly emotional.

He also offered the first glimpse of McArthur'sthoughts on his crimes, saying the landscaper's decision to waive a preliminary hearing was evidence of "some remorse" on his part and his assistance helped resolve the case quickly.

As part of the sentencing hearing, families and friends also submitted victim impact statements, some of which were read aloud in court after the agreed statement of facts. The remaining statements will be read in court on Tuesday.

'Staged' photos and souvenirs

Photographs of seven victimswere found on McArthur's digital devices.

Reading from theagreed statement of facts, Cantlontoldthe court that sixvictims were photographed after their deaths, having been "staged," typically with ropes around their necks, some with signs of strangulation.

In some of the photographs, the men's heads were shaved; in others, he posed them in a fur coat or fur hat.

Police found 31 photographs of SkandarajNavaratnam,McArthur'sfirst victim,including an image of a missing-persons poster showingNavaratnam,AbdulbasirFaiziandMajeedKayhan.

They also found Navaratnam'sbracelet, engraved with Skanda,Navaratnam's nickname,inMcArthur's bedroom.

McArthuralso kept other souvenirs, including other jewelry, a journal andbags of hair.

There were 18photographs of Andrew Kinsman, McArthur's final victim, including some with the murder weapona piece of rope with a metal bar attachedaround his neck. McArthur had also shaved his head.

Photos ofSoroushMahmudi, Majeed Kayhan,KirushnaKumarKanagaratnamand Dean Lisowickthat were takenafter they were killed were also found.

It appears McArthur didn't knowKanagaratnam'sor Mahmudi's names: the folderscontaining their photos didn't name them. He also told police he did not know Selim Esen's name.

It was also revealed that McArthur had tried to delete the photographs of his victims, but they were recovered through forensic analysis.

McArthurarrested for assault in 2016

More light was alsoshed onMcArthur'scontact with police in the years before he was arrestedin January 2018 in the deaths of Esen and Kinsman.

CBC has previously reported onMcArthur's2003assault conviction.

On Monday, the statement of facts revealed McArthurwas arrestedbut not chargedfor assault in June2016. Cantlon referred to the assault as an "attempted choking."

He said a manwho had known McArthur for yearswas lying down on a fur coat in the back of McArthur's van when McArthur began choking him.

The man was ableto escape and called 911.

McArthurwent to the police andsaid the incident was consensual. He was let go, as police believed his story was credible.

The 2016 incident is likely connected to the case of PaulGauthier, a Toronto police officer who will appear before a tribunal on Tuesday for misconduct in connection with theMcArthurcase.

Logistics and locations

The statement of facts also filled in details about how McArthur met his victimsand where he killed them mostly in his bedroom.

In the case of Esen, McArthur told police he befriended himon the street and took him home, where they had sex.

Photos of Esenwhen he was deceasedwere later found on McArthur's digital devices. Like others, he had been posed in a fur coat with a rope around his neck, both in McArthur's room and in his van.

Kayhan was employed by McArthur at his landscaping business for a month, and according to McArthur, the two had a sexual relationship.

Faizi, whose abandoned car was found a short drive from thehome where his remains were discovered, was killed at the homeMcArthur was house-sitting on Moore Avenue. No photographs of Faizi were recovered.

In efforts to avoid detection,McArthurdismembered and buried all his victims in planters or in a nearby ravine at the Toronto home of one of his landscaping clients.

The couple who owned the home also owned a cottage where they would spend weekends. During that time, McArthurwas allowed unfettered access to the property and had his own set of keys.