The lead homicide detective investigating alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur says it wouldn’t surprise him if the accused was linked to Toronto cold cases, including a series of murders in the Gay Village in the 1970s.

“I’ve got no evidence to say he’s linked to any of the cases, but bearing in mind the number of people we’re alleging he’s killed, we’re going to take a close look at some outstanding cold cases from the Gay Village in Toronto,” said Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga.

McArthur, 66, is facing six charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Dean Lisowick, 47; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Majeed Kayhan, 59; and Skandaraj Navaratnam, 40.

Investigators are “retracing McArthur’s life as far back as we can go,” Idsinga said, and maintains that police continue to look at outstanding missing persons cases and unsolved murders.

Between 1975 and 1978, police were confronted with 14 murders of gay men that followed a similar pattern of “overkill” in which the victims were in some cases tied up, beaten, and stabbed excessively.

Half of those cases have gone cold. McArthur would have been between about 23 and 26 years old at the time of those deaths. Read more via The Star