Just over a year after the arrest Bruce McArthur, Toronto police announced that a “significant development” is expected when the alleged serial killer, charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, is scheduled to appear in Ontario Superior Court Tuesday morning.Police said little else about the anticipated major news in the case, which comes on the heels of a series of brief court appearances by McArthur, 67, who stands accused of killing eight men with ties to Toronto’s Gay Village between September 2010 to June 2017.McArthur’s lawyer could not be reached for comment Monday. His lawyer, Crown prosecutors and Ontario Court Justice John McMahon have recently held pretrial discussions behind closed doors ahead of a trial that has been set for January 2020.Tuesday’s hearing has been moved from McMahon’s usual courtroom to one of the largest inside the Superior courthouse on University Ave. The police news release indicated parking arrangements for satellite trucks, signalling police anticipate a large media presence. Police investigators have also recently begun reaching out to families of McArthur’s alleged victims, according to Fareena Marezook, wife of Soroush Mahmudi, whom police allege McArthur killed in 2015. In an interview Monday, she said police told her a significant milestone will soon be reached in the case.The news has stirred up feelings of anxiety and anticipation, she said. “We can see tomorrow,” she said. Among those expected to be in attendance Tuesday are the lead investigators on the McArthur file, including Det. Dave Dickinson and Insp. Hank Idsinga, who is now the head of the Toronto police homicide squad. McArthur, a self-employed landscaper originally from small-town Ontario, was once a married father of two but, later in life, moved from his family’s Oshawa home to Toronto and became a familiar face in Toronto’s Church and Wellesley area. He was arrested in January 2018, ...
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