A key observation in the burgeoning Bruce McArthur investigation appears in court documents in an otherwise boilerplate form submitted by police in January 2013 — five years before the alleged serial killer’s arrest.Toronto police had been investigating the disappearance of Skanda Navaratnam, 40, who had gone missing from the city’s Gay Village in Sept. 2010. After few leads and no new evidence, an examination of other disappearances made police pick up on a pattern.“During an investigation in to other outstanding missing persons in the gay community, this occurrence, as well as two other missing males of similar ethnic background have come to light,” wrote a Toronto police detective. “This is a serious concern for the Toronto Police Service and further investigation is required to rule out or confirm criminal activity.”Court documents unsealed by an Ontario judge Friday provide a limited glimpse into the police task force known as Project Houston — the ultimately unsuccessful probe that examined the disappearances of three men now believed to be among alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur’s eight victims. They also show that years before McArthur became a murder suspect, police were homing in on areas McArthur was known to frequent — including SilverDaddies, a gay dating app used by McArthur, and bars within the Gay Village — though there is no mention of McArthur as a suspect in the newly released documents. Following an application by the Toronto Star and other media, Justice Cathy Mocha on Friday approved the partial release of “information to obtain” (ITO) documents, which are affidavits filed when police are asking for the court’s permission for certain investigative actions, such as obtaining search warrants, seeking access to bank records and more. The documents typically contain fresh details about an investigation, including summaries of evidence.Read more: What happened ...
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