Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur, former landscaper accused of dismembering men, pleads guilty to eight murders
- Police last year found the remains of seven of the men in large planters at a property where McArthur had worked
- The cases from 2010 to 2017 involved sexual assault or forcible confinement and the bodies were hidden and dismembered, according to the prosecutor
A former landscaper accused of killing and dismembering men he met in Toronto’s Gay Village district pleaded guilty on Tuesday to eight counts of first-degree murder.
Bruce McArthur, wearing a black jumper, stood up and said “guilty” eight times as the charges were read. Sentencing will start on Monday.
Police last year found the remains of seven of the men in large planters at a property where McArthur had worked. The remains of the eighth victim were found in a ravine behind the same property in midtown Toronto.
The prosecutor, Michael Cantlon, said the cases ranging from 2010 to 2017 involved sexual assault or forcible confinement and said the bodies were hidden and dismembered. Several of the victims were apparently strangled.
McArthur, now 67, moved to the Toronto area around 2000 and previously lived in a suburb where he was married, raised two children and worked as a travelling salesman of underwear and socks.
His landscaping business was small, but he periodically hired workers, including a 40-year-old man who disappeared in 2010.