Man charged with murder of two men who went missing from Toronto’s gay village
Police say there may be more victims.
By Will Stroude
Andrew Kinsman (left) and Selim Essen (right) were reported missing separately in 2017 after last being seen near Toronto’s gay district.
A man has been arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of two gay men who disappeared from Toronto’s gay village last year – and police say there may be more victims.
Bruce McArthur, 66, has been charged over the presumed deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49, and Selim Essen, 44, who were reported missing seperately last year after last being seen near the city’s gay neighbourhood, CBC News reports.
“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,” said Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga of the Toronto Police Service.
“In other words, we believe there are other victims.”
Mr Essen was reported missing last April, while Mr Kinsman was reported missing in June. Both were last seen close to the gay neighbourhood of Church and Wellesley.
Idsinga said police were yet to discover the bodies of either man, they had a “pretty good idea” of how they died.
“At this stage, we are most concerned with identifying other victims of Mr. McArthur,” he said.
The detective revealed that police had been investigating McArthur for some time but had only recently desicovered evidence linking him to the disappearances.
He confirmed that McArthur and Kinsman were involved in a sexual relationship for “some time, but that authoritieis did not know “the exact nature” of his relationship with Mr Essen.
Police began investigating the disappearances in August, working in tandem with a separation operation looking into the disappearance of three men from around Toronto’s gay village between 2010-2012.
The disappearances of Mr Kinsman and Mr Essen had sparked local rumours that a serial killer was operating in the area, but police said as recently as December that there was nothing to suggest so.
“In policing what we do is we follow the evidence, and what I said at the time … was accurate at that time,” Dt.-Sgt. Idsigna said.
Police are asking any member of the public with information contact them on 416-808-2021.