Canada - Bruce McArthur charged in murders of six men, Toronto, 2010-2017

[dotr]

[h=1]Bruce McArthur Update 3/7/2018 on Brainscratch Searchlight[/h]
LordanARTS
Published on Mar 7, 2018



Anyone with information about Bruce McArthur is urged to call the dedicated tip line at 416-808-2021, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), go online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), and please reference GO#1158947

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JG2FB8m2zI

 

[JDG]

TPS is calling an internal investigation into how/why BM was released after being called in over missing/dead men.

Professional standards are doing the investigation.

 

[matou]

When police fail marginalized communities, can online sleuths be of help?

https://nowtoronto.com/api/amp/cult...ing-macarthur-case/?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Sjm_qc]

TPS is calling an internal investigation into how/why BM was released after being called in over missing/dead men.

Professional standards are doing the investigation.

Adding a link or 2:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.the...-released-by-police-in-separate-incident.html

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/new...his-arrest-for-six-murders/article38231320/​/

 

[matou]

Lead investigator in Bruce McArthur case raises concerns over fellow officers' past actions

The lead detective in the investigation into alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur said Wednesday that he alerted the police professional standards unit about a related incident where he believes his fellow officers may have violated the service’s policies and procedures.


The comments from Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga follow a report on thestar.com Tuesday evening that years before McArthur was named as an alleged serial killer, he was questioned by police in a separate incident unrelated to men missing from Toronto’s Gay Village and was let go.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...ncerns-over-fellow-officers-past-actions.html

 

[matou]

On Wednesday, Idsinga would not comment on whether McArthur was previously questioned by police, but told the Star that he became aware of a related previous incident where the officers involved may not have done what they should have.


It was something "that became a concern to me since I became aware of it," Idsinga said.


Last week, he prepared a report and sent it to the Toronto police professional standards unit for an internal probe regarding "the actions of some officers in a previous occurrence (who), I am led to believe ... potentially did not do what they were supposed to have done, according to our policies and our procedures," Idsinga said.


"And that's something that should be investigated and I'm not the one to investigate that, so I prepared the report and I forwarded it to professional standards and they are now conducting that investigation," he said.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...ncerns-over-fellow-officers-past-actions.html

 

[dotr]

When police fail marginalized communities, can online sleuths be of help?

https://nowtoronto.com/api/amp/cult...ing-macarthur-case/?__twitter_impression=true

Hoped that we would not be dissed and that does not seem to be the case for Ws, imo.

Justin Ling, a former Vice editor and now a contract reporter assigned to the McArthur beat for The Globe And Mail, believes online speculation can be both beneficial and dangerous to journalists. He has been in contact with the online community Websleuths on previous stories and found the site’s users kept the speculation to a minimum and focused primarily on digging for information.

“Obviously, the more people you have on a story, the more [information] you’re going to get,” he says. “You have literally dozens of people poking around, searching through Facebook and missing persons reports, coming up with ideas and theories that a team of two or three journalists might not be able to do by themselves.”

 

[matou]

Hoped that we would not be dissed and that does not seem to be the case for Ws, imo.

He's a member here from the Luka Magnotta case.

 

[Sjm_qc]

When police fail marginalized communities, can online sleuths be of help?

https://nowtoronto.com/api/amp/cult...ing-macarthur-case/?__twitter_impression=true

Hoped that we would not be dissed and that does not seem to be the case for Ws, imo.

Justin Ling makes some very good points. And is a reporter/journalist I respect.

There are other reporters/journalists for whom I have very much less respect, particularly regarding their irresponsible tactics and approach elsewhere than WS.

Slightly OT: as a general rule of thumb from prior experience and some training, do not speak or correspond with the press without backup/advice/a representative present, unless you are a designated spokesperson and have double checked.

Equally, beware of seemingly innocuous questions/private messages on SM from people you don’t know. Reputable journalists should always identify themselves as such, but some don’t. Some do but then ask for “background”, or “guidance” info, without specifying that they’re out for a story.

In brief: never assume that anything you say in any type of conversation with a journalist is off-record, or that it will be reported in context.

 

[Maple]

"Their cases went cold, and police were adamant that the village did not have a serial killer."

This article by a writer who identifies as a queer man of color, and "...one who fits the profile of some of [BM's] alleged victims," definitely puts into perspective what we are learning now about how LE initially handled the missing cases linked to the murder victims.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jp-lar...n-of-colour-a-white-killer-s-prey_a_23354740/

 

[dotr]

lengthy article rbbm.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-tuesday-march-6-2018-1.4563844/data-based-investigation-could-have-led-to-bruce-mcarthur-s-arrest-much-sooner-says-expert-1.4564574

March 06, 2018

Data-based investigation could have led to Bruce McArthur's arrest much sooner, says expert

The data-driven work of Western University criminology professor Michael Arntfield suggests they could have done, and still need to do, much more.

Arntfield advocates using big data in addition to traditional detective work to identify and find serial killers.

His team's algorithm has allowed police in cities like Cleveland and Chicago to identify patterns of serial criminality more effectively than traditional detective work, which has led to earlier arrests. But Arntfield says institutional barriers stand in the way of implementing such a program in Canada.

Arntfield argues that if police had a wider gamut of data and an easier way to coordinate and compare that data, it's likely they would have arrested McArthur sooner.

"Right now, Toronto police is shouldering the entirety of this investigation because, again, all the [allegedly] confirmed victims [were found] within their jurisdiction," he said. "We also know that he was active for many, many years in other parts of Ontario prior to arriving in Toronto. So this case, as it expands, may take on dimensions that require countless other police departments, including police services no longer in existence."

 

[Hazel]

Tips pour in after police release grim photo of man believed to be victim of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur

I'm not sure if I'm understanding correctly. Is NW saying she'll be releasing a new photoshopped image, or was she the one who "cleaned up" the image that the TPS released?

Data from the photo released on the Toronto police website shows it was altered, including by a photoshopping tool to erase and smudge parts of the image.

Now, LGBTQ community leader and trans woman Nicki Ward said she is using her Photoshop skills to make what she called a “dreadful, brutalized picture” more viewable to help community members who say they vaguely recognize the person.

“I’ve been trying to Photoshop his face to get rid of the … distortion and the fact that he was photographed at a peculiar angle,” said Ward, who is also the director of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association.

“What everybody I’ve spoken to has said is that his face is kind of familiar, but it’s at such a funny angle, it’s kind of impossible to see,” she said, adding she took the extra step with the hopes that the photo might be of help.

“It’s important to me that the victims be represented with dignity and respect,” she said. “I wanted to be sure that the picture was at least decent.”

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...-believed-to-be-victim-of-bruce-mcarthur.html

 

[matou]

TPS release of enhanced image of deceased victim:

http://www.680news.com/2018/03/07/bruce-mcarthur-victim-photo/

 

[dotr]

http://nationalpost.com/news/canada...carthur-case-triggered-internal-police-review
rbbm

[h=1]Lead investigator in Bruce McArthur case triggered internal police review[/h] [h=2]'When I was reviewing some of the files, I came across something and said I don't think this has been handled properly'[/h]

For six months, the team investigated links between Navaratnam’s death and a worldwide cannibalism ring but came up empty.

“We essentially investigated that to determine if it was reality or fantasy — we determined it was fantasy,” he said.

The length of time McArthur has allegedly been operating in Toronto — the earliest murder linked to him allegedly took place in 2010 — concerns Idsinga as it does the LGBTQ community. Despite the internal investigation, the blame should be targeted in one direction, he said.

“Ultimately the person to blame is Bruce McArthur,” he said. “It’s not the community, it’s not the Toronto Police Service. It’s Bruce McArthur.”

 

[Hazel]

Wish someone would ask more questions about shown UID male.
Like race/ethnicity, eye colour, potential age of victim, unusual teeth or other identifying info. ect.

ITA, but IMHO I think it is a still from a video found on BM computer/laptop. If that's the case, could this mean BM only took video/pics of his victims post-mortem? (speculation)

My first impression of the image released by the TPS was that the IUD's was black, but after comparing to images found online, most black males in their forties seem to have a receding hair line. Noticing how much hair this person has, I am now thinking he could be Sikh. Could the reason LE is having trouble identifying him be because this person used a Sikh turban, like the one our Minister of Defence wears? If that's the case, maybe people that knew him don't recognize him without the turban? (Just speculation)

 

[LoyalSleuth]

ITA, but IMHO I think it is a still from a video found on BM computer/laptop. If that's the case, could this mean BM only took video/pics of his victims post-mortem? (speculation)

My first impression of the image released by the TPS was that the IUD's was black, but after comparing to images found online, most black males in their forties seem to have a receding hair line. Noticing how much hair this person has, I am now thinking he could be Sikh. Could the reason LE is having trouble identifying him be because this person used a Sikh turban, like the one our Minister of Defence wears? If that's the case, maybe people that knew him don't recognize him without the turban? (Just speculation)

I think he is either mixes race, black and white, or Sri Lankan. IMO

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[dotr]

ITA, but IMHO I think it is a still from a video found on BM computer/laptop. If that's the case, could this mean BM only took video/pics of his victims post-mortem? (speculation)

My first impression of the image released by the TPS was that the IUD's was black, but after comparing to images found online, most black males in their forties seem to have a receding hair line. Noticing how much hair this person has, I am now thinking he could be Sikh. Could the reason LE is having trouble identifying him be because this person used a Sikh turban, like the one our Minister of Defence wears? If that's the case, maybe people that knew him don't recognize him without the turban? (Just speculation)

Rbbm.
My thoughts exactly Hazel, that it might be someone who might normally wear a turban AND that possibly the hair was haphazardly cut off.
Speculation, imo.

 

[Grey-St]

I respect Idsinga for putting together this report and bringing it to the attention of the Professional Standards Unit, but was he not also on Project Houston? The same task force that told the families of the missing men that their loved one had taken off on purpose (after they brought computer/online information to their attention)?

 

[519er]

“Ultimately the person to blame is Bruce McArthur,” he said. “It’s not the community, it’s not the Toronto Police Service. It’s Bruce McArthur.”

Couldnt agree more

 

[cstewart0985]

Rbbm.
My thoughts exactly Hazel, that it might be someone who might normally wear a turban AND that possibly the hair was haphazardly cut off.
Speculation, imo.

The hair on the UID picture was painted on in photoshop. I’m not sure how much they made him look like how he was in the picture prior to “cleaning up”, but most of the beard is reconstructed, the lips aren’t right, the one eye is copy and pasted from the other, and the beard line on the one side is drastically lower than the other side (I don’t know a single male who would be okay with it being that off). I also will venture that the lighting was poor at time of original photo (late afternoon-night) so we have no idea true skin tone and as this is a photo taken posthumously, he will have no muscle control which will get rid of brow furrows, relax lip/mouth structure, etc. This photo was heavily shopped. People who know him will see him, but those of us scanning thousands of missing person’s listings may miss him if we aren’t aware that he likely of South Asian descent and likely markedly different from this photo we have.


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