Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur made his first appearance in Ontario Superior Court on Monday morning to set a judicial pre-trial hearing date for his upcoming trial.
McArthur, who was wearing blue jeans, a dress shirt and a dark blue sweater did not look at the visitor gallery as he entered court. He did not speak, except to acknowledge when the judge spoke to him.
The judge set a pre-trial hearing for Nov 30, and estimates that the trial could begin as early as September 2019.
At the pre-trial hearing, the judge and both the defence and Crown attorneys will meet before the trial to discuss issues in the case or complications that could arise.
Two weeks ago, McArthur waived his right to a preliminary hearing, a pre-trial procedure that assesses the strength of the Crown’s case against the accused.
McArthur, a landscaper, is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam.
In January 2018, Toronto police arrested McArthur and later found seven sets of remains in planters around a midtown Toronto home that McArthur was connected to. In July, police discovered another set of remains in a ravine behind the property.
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