Toronto Police have found evidence in Bruce McArthur's Thorncliffe Park home linking him to a total of four deaths, according to NEWSTALK 1010's sister station CP24.
66-year-old McArthur is charged with first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman. Toronto Police told reporters Thursday that they believe McArthur is responsible for the deaths of other, yet to be identified men, though they have not said what led them to that conclusion.
While police have not yet found Esen or Kinsmen's bodies, Det.-Sgt Hank Idsinga believes they have strong enough evidence to go ahead with prosecution. He said police were searching a handful of properties linked to McArthur in Toronto and Madoc, north of Belleville, looking for clues.
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WATCH: Police make arrest in connection with missing Toronto men
Citing a source, CP24 reports police were granted a search warrant for McArthur's home near Don Mills Rd and Overlea Blvd after finding blood in the trunk of a vehicle. McArthur reportedly brought the vehicle to a wrecking yard for demolition while under surveillance and police were able to intercept it.
In his first court appearance McArthur appeared anxious, his cheeks flushed. He will appear next in court by video on February 14.
Alphonso King and his husband John Allan were among those who packed the Toronto courtroom Friday.
King said they wanted to see the face of the man whose alleged actions kept the city's gay village on edge for the better part of a year.
"It was intense," he said. "For a lot of people, I'm sure that they were really nervous because you didn't know who it was."
WATCH: Alphonso King knew one of Bruce McArthur’s alleged victims through doing volunteer work. King says he came to court to see McArthur in person. pic.twitter.com/zP7Q9lnY4g
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) January 19, 2018
Now that an arrest has been made, there is a sense of relief and hope for closure, King said.
But the pair also said they felt police had put lives at risk by ignoring the community's concerns over the disappearances for so long.
"The community tried to tell them, 'We think it's a serial killer, we think that the cases are related, we think that there's a possibility that it was all tied to one of the (dating) apps or something like that, that there has to be a link,' and they assured us that there wasn't," King said.
"They completely dismissed that notion. They guaranteed us the cases weren't related, they guaranteed us there wasn't a serial killer around, and that's exactly what it turned out to be," Allan said. "So that’s why we're pissed off."
While McArthur was in the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto, police were keeping an eye on a home in sleepy Madoc.
Joanne Irvine, who lives two doors down from a white-sided home with a wrap-around porch says police set up floodlights on the property Thursday night and seem to be focusing their attention at the rear of the parcel of land.
Shawn Welsh/NEWSTALK 1010
Joanne Irvine
"It's very private, the neighbours are all really nice and you can basically do things and you're not being watched," Irvine told NEWSTALK 1010 Friday.
She says after someone new moved in last summer, elaborate gardens were built on the property. She regularly saw a man she believed to McArthur working on those gardens.
Police have said McArthur worked as a landscaper.
with files from James Moore and the Canadian Press
THIS IS A CORRECTED STORY: A previous version of this story said Bruce McArthur owns the home in Madoc. He does not.