A seventh murder charge has been laid against alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, who appeared in a Toronto courtroom on Wednesday morning.
The prosecutor told reporters outside the court that the latest first-degree murder is in relation to the death of Abdulbasir Faizi, a man in his 40s who was reported missing in 2010.
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Faizi was one of the men at the centre of Project Houston, a Toronto Police task force formed in 2012 that focused on the disappearances of three men from the city’s Gay Village. Project Houston ended after more than a year because police found no evidence to point to criminal activity.
The announcement of the charge comes hours before the Toronto Police are scheduled to host a news conference with further updates on the McArthur case.
McArthur, a 66-year-old landscaper, was arrested in January and has since been charged in the deaths of Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Majeed Kayhan, and Abdulbasir Faizi.
Police have identified the remains of seven men hidden inside garden planters located at a Toronto home where McArthur worked and stored his equipment. Police have also seized more than 20 garden planters from other properties around Toronto.
Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga has told reporters the case is unprecedented for the city, and investigators are scouring cold case files involving men who were killed in downtown Toronto dating back to the 1970s. McArthur would have been in his 20s at that time. Idsinga has also said he expects there to be more victims.
The Toronto Police have faced scrutiny for their handling of the case and how they have interacted with the city’s LGBTQ community, which for years has warned about a potential serial killer targeting people in the village. It has also been revealed that police questioned McArthur in 2016 in relation to an assault, but let him go.
Members of the community have repeatedly called for police chief Mark Saunders to resign. And last week, the Toronto Police withdrew its application to march in the city’s Pride parade.
“I am conscious of the need to avoid any setback that might undermine the principle objective of coming together and restoring confidence,” Saunders said in a press release.
“My hope is that this move will be received as a concrete example of the fact that I am listening closely to the community’s concerns and I am committed thoroughly to building a better, stronger relationship between us.”
Last month, the Toronto police board approved an external review of how it handles missing persons cases.
