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Toronto police arrested serial killer Bruce McArthur while he had a man naked and handcuffed to his bed in his North York apartment, according to the agreed statement of facts heard on Monday.
The document said McArthur was under constant supervision when two officers saw him bring a man back to his apartment on Jan. 18, 2017 — the day of his arrest. Due to the circumstances, the statement of facts said the officers went to the apartment and immediately arrested the 67-year-old McArthur and discovered the man tied up in the bedroom.
Further forensic analysis found folders on McArthur’s computer and USB drive pertaining to each of his eight victims, as well as a ninth folder titled “John” — the name of the man handcuffed in the bedroom.
Prosecutor Michael Cantlon read the statement of facts in court on Monday and said McArthur — who pleaded guilty last week to eight counts of first-degree murder — had established a clear victim profile over the years.
The men he killed between 2010 and 2017 all had ties to the city’s gay community and shared social traits that put them at greater risk of harm, Cantlon said. Many of the victims, for instance, had to hide their sexuality from family members or contend with unstable housing situations, he said.
“There is evidence that Mr. McArthur sought out and exploited these vulnerabilities to continue his crimes undetected,” Cantlon said.
WATCH: Serial Killer Bruce McArthur sentencing hearing gets underway
McArthur also largely targeted men of Middle-Eastern descent with similar physical appearances, he added.
The man, identified as “John,” fit the profile in nearly every way, court heard.
The statement of facts outlined McArthur’s relationship with “John,” who met McArthur in the summer of 2017 on the online dating app Growlr. The statement said the man was Middle-Eastern and had immigrated to Canada five years earlier.
The document stated that John’s family and friends were not aware of his sexual orientation and that he was married. McArthur and John were intimate on a number of occasions.
The court heard that on Jan. 18, McArthur invited John over to his apartment at 95 Thorncliffe Park in North York. McArthur asked John if anyone knew of their planned meeting. John replied that their rendezvous was a secret.
The statement said that once in McArthur’s bedroom, John was told they had to hurry up because McArthur’s son or roommate would be coming, so he told John to undress quickly.
John undressed, according to the statement, and McArthur came back into the bedroom with handcuffs and said they were going to try something different and attached John’s hands to the bed.
WATCH: Remembering the 8 victims of Bruce McArthur
McArthur then got a black leather bag from another room and placed it over John’s head. There were no holes in it and John asked McArthur to remove the bag, but he did not comply, according to the document.
John was able to get the bag off but then McArthur attempted to tape his mouth shut.
At the time, McArthur was already under police surveillance after officers had linked his car to the 2017 disappearance of Andrew Kinsman, later revealed as the eighth murder victim, court heard.
On the day in question, Det.-Const. Derek Pape and Patrick Platte were at the apartment when they noticed McArthur bringing a man up to his apartment.
Due to the “exigent circumstances,” the statement said both officers went to the apartment, knocked on the door and arrested McArthur. Pape found a naked man handcuffed to McArthur’s bed.
They later uncovered the folder bearing John’s name and containing his photos alongside other folders filled with evidence of McArthur’s previous killings.
Those folders were labelled with nicknames or other identifiers matched to Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Kirushna Kanagaratnam, Dean Lisowick, Selim Esen and Kinsman.
READ MORE: Timeline of events for Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur
Pictures recovered from those folders depict the men posed with cigars in their mouths and wearing fur coats and hats after their deaths.
McArthur’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for three days this week.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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