3 men missing in same Toronto ON neighborhood, 2010-2012

[Unscripted]

:wagon: peacefulone!

 

[Unscripted]

Great point! Maybe those are days when perp/s get time off or families are not around?

Maybe the perp came into town during those holiday times to do his hunting? I tend to think he’s from TO/environs and his regular family was away for those 3 holiday weekends/periods.

It seems as if Skanda was being cautious (having been mugged 2 years earlier) and was taking taxis after late nights out, so it doesn’t make sense (to me) that he would go for an early morning tryst with a complete stranger.

 

[Snoopster]

They all disappeared during holidays:

Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40 — September 6, 2010 (Monday) Labour Day

Abdulbasir “Basir” Faizi, 44 — December 29, 2010 (Wednesday) Christmas/New Year’s week

Majeed “Hamid” Kayhan, 58 — October 14, 2012 (Sunday) Canadian Thanksgiving

Great thinking, but I'm not sure that last one holds up to the theory. Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday Oct. 9. Not only that, but, as Unscripted pointed out, there is conflicting information out there.

Kayhan was reported missing by his son on Oct. 14. However, according to a Toronto Police Service release dated Nov 2/12, it indicates he was last seen on Thursday Oct 18 at 10:30 a.m. in the Alexander St/Yonge St area. And if you read the June 6 TPS news release they say he was reported missing by his son on Oct 14 and then reported missing again on Oct 25. Definitely confusing, but in any case not Thanksgiving weekend.

I had a virtual look around the Alexander/Yonge St area and noticed "Buddies in Bad Times Theatre". It is a gay-oriented theatre and bar. I'm not sure it has any connection, particularly at 10:30 in the morning, but then again I wonder who reported seeing Kayhan at that time.

So. does this imply that if all three cases are connected, that it likely involves someone fairly local?

 

[LadyL]

my first thought was Magnotta, except that he was already in prison when the third man went missing ...

this is really creepy

 

[Snoopster]

Not all 3 are from the same religion. Skanda is not a Muslim name, this gentleman I believe is Sri Lankan and could be any religion. The other 2 gentleman are Muslim most likely as both of their names are Muslim in origin . Sometimes though people may have Muslim names yet be Christian as their family may have converted generations ago. The 2 who are most likely Muslim (Faizi & Kayhan) are do not resemble Middle Eastern Men to me. They look South Asian most likely from Pakistan/Afghanistan. Faizi particularly is wearing a Pakistani hat and vest in his photo. Faizi and Kayhan would not be celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas most likely as most Muslims don't do much on those days (some will but the majority won't). So it would not be odd for them to be away from home doing something else at that time. At this point I don't feel it was a crime committed from "within" their religious group as Skanda is not a Muslim. I did go on Craigslist in the men seeking men section and found a number of ads from a person seeking "South Asian Men", and in some ads "south asian men who were cab drivers." Skanda was seen leaving a bar with another male so perhaps there is a male who is targeting a particular ethnicity. I wonder what race the male was who Skanda left with?

Regarding the religious backgrounds of the three men...

Skanda's surname does seem to have a Sri Lankan heritage, at least there was a famous Sri Lankan with that last name. However many south Asians have worked in the Middle East for some time. The Xtra article mentioned that Skanda had no family in Canada but he had a brother in Dubai. There are many South Asians working in the Middle East. While Sri Lanka is primarily Buddhist, there are meaningful minorities of Hindu, Christian and Muslim. So, I guess Skanda could be any of those!

Faiza is of Afghan heritage. His FB page indicates that he was born in Herat Afghanistan. This would imply that he is Muslim. He has friends who live in both Afghanistan and Iran.

https://www.facebook.com/basir.faizi.94?ref=ts&fref=ts


The surname Kayhan seems to be of Persian origin. I find people with that surname in Iran (as well as Canada and the US of course).

So, both Faiza and Kayhan are very likely Shiite Muslim, while Skanda (Navaratnam) is unknown, with greatest possibility being Buddhist, although if Muslim he would likely be Sunni Muslim...so unlikely to go to the same mosque as the other two.

This is all based on my admittedly limited knowledge of religion.

 

[Snoopster]

my first thought was Magnotta, except that he was already in prison when the third man went missing ...

this is really creepy

I thought the same thing! What if only the first two are related?

The other thing I've been wondering about is, if these men were killed (and we definitely don't know that they have been) where are their bodies? Why haven't any of them been found?

 

[matou]

Faizi was reported missing after TWO YEARS, by his son? Hmmmmm.

 

[Snoopster]

Faizi was reported missing after TWO YEARS, by his son? Hmmmmm.

I'm confused, matou. Where did you read this?

I believe it was Kayhan who was reported missing by his son...two years after the other two men disappeared. I don't think it was two years after he disappeared. I believe he was seen in October 2012.

 

[matou]

I'm confused, matou. Where did you read this?

I believe it was Kayhan who was reported missing by his son...two years after the other two men disappeared. I don't think it was two years after he disappeared. I believe he was seen in October 2012.

Whoops, sorry about that. The Sun article a read yesterday had a sentence that made it seem that it took two years for someone's son to report him missing. You are right Snoopter, Kayhan is the missing person who was reported missing by his son. Makes sense since Kayhan is 59 years old. He is the third of the three men to go missing.

Kayhan was last seen on Oct. 14, 2012. The 59-yer-old, who was reported missing by his son, was a friend of Navaratnam.

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/06/07/hunt-for-leads-continues-for-three-missing-men

 

[Unscripted]

Great thinking, but I'm not sure that last one holds up to the theory. Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday Oct. 9. Not only that, but, as Unscripted pointed out, there is conflicting information out there.

Kayhan was reported missing by his son on Oct. 14. However, according to a Toronto Police Service release dated Nov 2/12, it indicates he was last seen on Thursday Oct 18 at 10:30 a.m. in the Alexander St/Yonge St area. And if you read the June 6 TPS news release they say he was reported missing by his son on Oct 14 and then reported missing again on Oct 25. Definitely confusing, but in any case not Thanksgiving weekend.

I had a virtual look around the Alexander/Yonge St area and noticed "Buddies in Bad Times Theatre". It is a gay-oriented theatre and bar. I'm not sure it has any connection, particularly at 10:30 in the morning, but then again I wonder who reported seeing Kayhan at that time.

So. does this imply that if all three cases are connected, that it likely involves someone fairly local?

Thanks for double-checking the holiday dates, I was going a little cross-eyed yesterday. (Thanksgiving is on Oct 14th this year, 2013.)

Yes, I think the intimation from Toronto Police is that the 3 cases are inextricably linked.

It all started with Skanda after he left Zipperz (at 72 Carleton) with another man early on September 6th, 2010 and disappeared.

Four months later Basir (who lived in Brampton and worked in Mississauga) disappeared after being seen at Steamworks at 540 Church St. I wonder if Basir regularly attended Steamworks or if he planned to meet someone there; perhaps he met the perp. online? If Basir was mugged near Steamworks, his car would have presumably been located nearby, not in Moore Park. So possibly Basir and the perp. went somewhere in his car and the perp. later dropped off his vehicle (probably away from the crime scene).

When we regularly walked our dogs at Cherry Beach there was a lot of M2M near the boat clubs/bike path especially during the winter months. LE (they patrolled the area in the summer) told us that the activity moved to Riverdale Park East during the summer months because of the high traffic at the beach from seasonal boaters/sailors and that they (LE) pretty much left those involved alone unless there was a complaint.

 

[Danaya]

I thought the same thing! What if only the first two are related?

The other thing I've been wondering about is, if these men were killed (and we definitely don't know that they have been) where are their bodies? Why haven't any of them been found?

So many reasons why the bodies haven't been found. I think it is a fair assumption to think these men have been killed. None of them led lifestyles where they would drop out of sight for years at a time. One of the men had pets he loved dearly and a friend he promised he would always contact if he went anywhere for long.

I know with organized crime, many groups can kill and dispose of someone very easily. There are professionals in killing. Many missing people haven't been found and are presumed dead. There are so many places they could be, ways they could have been disposed of. There's so much wilderness out there, places humans don't normally go... or the gruesome ways people have been known to get rid of all traces of their victim... it's really quite disturbing.

 

[dotr]

Lots of new info here.

http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/...sing_men_from_Torontos_gay_Village-13698.aspx

"“The key connection for us is that all three disappeared from the Church and Wellesley area, they have family and friends who are concerned about them, and everything that we’ve done from the onset there is nothing that tells us where these three people are,” she says.

She says it’s unusual for missing persons cases to be outstanding for this long. “We have also been looking at missing person cases across Canada.”

Khaki says police should continue to expand the search by looking at cold cases, and outstanding missing person reports, in Toronto areas outside the Village, and beyond. If these three men are indeed connected, Khaki says, it’s important for investigators to understand the cultural sensitivities and discrimination that explain why men like Kayhan and Faizi live double lives. With that in mind, it’s possible other missing persons cases could be connected as well.

“I don’t think it’s problematic that police are looking at all possibilities, but I think they need to cast their net a little bit wider,” he says. “Start looking to see if other people have been reported missing from other areas. If there’s people connected to this community and also living closeted lives, the person who reports them missing could change how it is investigated.”

 

[dotr]

http://www.bayview-news.com/2013/06/toronto-police-suspect-pattern-three.html

"Mr. Faizi was reported missing to Peel Regional Police on Dec. 29, 2010. Police say he went missing in the same area as Navaratnam. His car was later found on Moore Ave. near Mount Pleasant Cemetery. South Bayview residents will recall that in 2010 Moore Ave was even more secluded than it is today since its redevelopment in 2011. It was a good place to dump a car without being seen"

BBm

 

[dotr]

Is there a serial killer of gay middle aged men in New York? thread ..
NY NY - Is a Serial Killer Targeting Gay Men in NY Again? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[dotr]

Today's news.
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/06/10/gay_village_disappearances_baffle_police.html

"One of the last times Becker talked with him, Navaratnam talked of his new puppy.

That pet was left behind when he vanished, which was greatly out of character for him, she said.

“He was a really responsible guy,” Becker said. “For him to just get a puppy and then to just screw off, that doesn’t add up. He would have taken the dog with him.”

Becker met Navaratnam from Zipperz bar on nearby Carlton St., where she worked as a bartender and he was a regular. There were no great changes in his life in the days before he vanished, she said.

“No new boyfriend,” she said. “He was into dating but didn’t have anybody brand new.”

She described her friend as careful and happy with his life.

“His laugh was just ridiculous,” Becker said. “If Skanda started laughing, everybody started laughing, even if nothing was funny.”

“Everything was normal, normal, normal and then bam! Vanished!"

 

[dotr]

Hope this guy checks in with someone soon...

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/pdfs/26751.pdf

"Saurabh Kulkarni, 25, was last seen on Saturday, June 8, 2013, in the Isabella Street/Yonge
Street area.
He is described as having brown skin, 5'6", 130 lbs., clean−shaven and shoulder−length
dark−brown hair"

 

[peacefulone]

I am not sure if this has been posted:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/Here+and+Now+Toronto/ID/2390605899/

Lots of info

 

[dotr]

I am not sure if this has been posted:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/Here+and+Now+Toronto/ID/2390605899/

Lots of info

Thanks for posting that great radio interview.Interesting suggestion that there may be a " complexion connection" as opposed to an ethnic one.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

We have a thread for Skanda here - CANADA Canada - Skanda Navaratnam, 40, Toronto ON, 5 Sept 2010 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[necco]

http://www.bayview-news.com/2013/06/toronto-police-suspect-pattern-three.html

"Mr. Faizi was reported missing to Peel Regional Police on Dec. 29, 2010. Police say he went missing in the same area as Navaratnam. His car was later found on Moore Ave. near Mount Pleasant Cemetery. South Bayview residents will recall that in 2010 Moore Ave was even more secluded than it is today since its redevelopment in 2011. It was a good place to dump a car without being seen"

BBm

Bolded by me.
I wonder if there were any burials happening the day after he went missing. Maybe it's a little too Law and Order, but a dug grave seems like a great place to bury a body.