Toronto police say a "significant development" is expected Tuesday morning in the case against alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
McArthur was arrested on Jan. 18, 2018 at his apartment in Thorncliffe Park.
The 67-year-old self-employed landscaper faces eight counts of first-degree murder.
McArthur is accused in the deaths of Skandaraj Navaratnam, Majeed Kayhan, Abdulbasir Faizi, Soroush Mahmudi, Selim Esen, Dean Lisowick, Andrew Kinsman and Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam.
Police believe the men had ties to the LGBTQ community. Many of them were first reported missing from the city’s Gay Village, known formally as the Church-Wellesley neigbourhood.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In the weeks that followed his arrest, a forensic team descended on a midtown Toronto home.
It was there, at 53 Mallory Crescent, that police discovered the dismembered remains of eight men hidden inside large garden planters and scattered in a ravine behind the property.
The homeowners told police that they had once hired McArthur to do landscaping work at their home and allowed him to store his tools.
Earlier this month, the homeowners marked one year since McArthur’s arrest – and one year since their property was transformed into a crime scene.
McArthur is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 6, 2020. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing late last year. The proceedings are expected to last three to four months, according to the Crown.
The “significant development” is expected to be made public at his Tuesday court appearance, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. No further details were released about the nature of the update.
Lead investigator Insp. Hank Idsinga told CTV News Toronto that a review into missing persons cases preceding 2010 is ongoing, but that investigators have yet to find any evidence linking McArthur to any additional cases.
“We’re almost done that review,” he said. “Hopefully we just have the eight alleged victims and it will stay at eight.”
Former homicide detective and CP24 crime specialist Steve Ryan said the fact that McArthur waived his right to a preliminary hearing is significant and telling.
“To me it suggested that there may be something in the works, such as a guilty plea, and I do think that is what we are going to see tomorrow,” he said.
“The police would never come out and say it’s a guilty plea because up until someone says, ‘Yes, your honour, I plead guilty to the offences as charged,’ it’s never a done deal.”
