Man Arrested For Murder In Connection With Disappearances In Toronto’s Gay Village

Bruce McArthur charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman…
 
Police have arrested 66-year-old Bruce McArthur, a self-employed Toronto landscaper, and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of Selim Esen, 44, and Andrew Kinsman, 49. Both men have been missing for months and are now presumed to be dead.
 
McArthur was arrested Thursday morning and police will search five properties connected with him in Toronto and Madoc, Ontario. According to police, McArthur lived in the Thorncliffe Park area, was active on dating apps and known to frequent the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood.
 
At a news conference at Toronto homicide squad on Thursday, Det-Sgt. Hank Idsinga stated, “We believe he is responsible for the deaths of Mr. Esen and Mr. Kinsman, and we believe he is responsible for the deaths of other men who have yet to be identified.”
 
The bodies of Esen and Kinsman have yet to be found, but police have a “pretty good idea” of what their cause of death was. They are now focusing on identifying other victims.
 
McArthur’s arrest is the result of Project Prism, a police task force created this past August to investigate the disappearance of Kinsman, who went missing from Cabbagetown in June, and Esen, who was last seen in the Yonge and Bloor area in April.
 
The disappearances alarmed many in the community and prompted community-led search parties.
 
Just last month, investigators said that there was no proof that a serial killer was operating in the gay village and Chief Mark Saunders is standing by that statement.
 
“In policing what we do is we follow the evidence, and what I said at the time … was accurate at that time,” he said.
 
McArthur is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning.