Accused serial killer Bruce McArthur is waiving his right to a preliminary inquiry.
The decision was announced during McArthur's brief appearance at the College Park courthouse on Monday morning.
CP24's crime specialist Steve Ryan said one of the reasons an accused person may waive the right to a preliminary inquiry is in preparation for a guilty plea.
"An accused person has the right to force the Crown to put on a mini trial where the Crown presents some of its evidence to a judge… It is a benefit for an accused person," Ryan said Monday.
"I think what we are seeing here is the potential to have a plea very soon down the road."
The 67-year-old landscaper is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam.
Many of the murdered men had ties to the city’s LGBT community and had previously been reported missing.
McArthur was first arrested in January after a months-long police investigation into the alleged serial killer.
In the months that followed, police found the remains of eight men on a property on Mallory Crescent in Toronto where McArthur stored tools for his landscaping business.
McArthur’s next court appearance will be at the Superior Court of Justice on Nov. 5.
