Friends, family of McArthur's victims share 'collective nightmare'

For several days, they sat together in aToronto courtroom, connected to one another,as Superior Court Justice John McMahon put it, through"a collective nightmare."

But on Friday, when McMahon sentenced 67-year-old serial killer Bruce McArthur to life in prison without parole eligibility for 25 years, one chapter of the ordeal suffered by thefriends, family and other loved ones of his victims hadbeen closed.

"Unfortunately they will live with this nightmare the rest of their lives," said McMahon, reading from his 17-page sentencing report.

For friends and family of the eight men murdered by McArthur, the sentencing was the culmination of his guilty plea last week, and the arduous days in court that followed listening to the horrifying details of how he killed his victims, and delivering victim impact statements.

Those statements provided an insight into the emotional wreckage wroughtby the former landscaperandthephysical, mental and financial damage inflicted onthe loves ones of all eight victims:Andrew Kinsman, 49, Selim Esen, 44, Skandaraj Navaratnam, 40, Abdulbasir Faizi, 44, Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, 37, Dean Lisowick, 47, Soroush Mahmudi, 50, and Majeed Kayhan, 58.

For some, McMahon's sentence provided little solace. He could have followed the Crown's recommendation and sentenced McArthur to life without parole eligibility for 50 years. Instead, he settled on the mandatory minimum, meaning that McArthurcould face a parole board when he's 91, althoughit's highly unlikely he will ever see any kind of freedom from prison.

Outside the courthouse on Friday,Nicole Borthwicka friend ofKinsman,Lisowick andEsen expressed herdisappointment with the sentence.

"Losing three friends and killing eightvictims and having a life sentence for that is not enough. It's not enough for the families, it's not enough for the lives lost and it's so not enough for the community," she said.

"And thereis no closure. There is no grace. This community is broken and it's going to be broken for a long, long time."

KirushnaKumarKanagaratnam's mother,brotherandcousin, who came to Torontofrom Sri Lanka, appeared outside the courthouse following the sentence;his mother wiping away tears.

Piranavan Thangavel, speaking on behalf of the family, said he didn't know the words to explain how they were feeling. But earlier this week, Kanagaratnam's brotherKrusnathasanspokea few words of English, sayingthere's "no sleeping everyday" that it's a "very very bad situation for my family" and that his mother "keeps on crying."

The Kanagaratnamswere among the dozens offriends and familywho sat silentlyin court Friday asMcMahon read from his sentencing report.Two of Kinsman's sisters would occasionally nod in agreement when McMahon would describe the depraved nature of McArthur's actions,and shake their heads at some of the graphic details of his crimes, particularlythose about their brother.

Victimized twice

McMahon noted how all the friendsand familieshad been victimized twice searching fruitlessly for their loved ones when they went missing, only to learn they'd been murdered.

In his victim impact statement read earlier this week,JalillKayhan, brother of Majeed,said the family had agonized over his disappearance since 2012, not knowing where he went, what happened to him, and then, finally being notified of his "horrific and brutal murder."

"I don't know that I can properly describe the pain and suffering that I and my family have gone through over the years and I believe this suffering will continue to affect us forever."

Other victim impact statements revealed not just the emotional toll on the family members, but the physical and mental anguish they now suffer.

'Lost any motivation for life'

KirushnavenyYasotharan, the sister of KirushnaKumar Kanagaratnam, said in her statementthatshe wassufferingfrom severe depression, was taking antidepressantmedication and hadlost considerable weight. She said shehad "lost any motivation for life" and that she didn't want to live in a world "which became so terribly cruel."

"WhenIsleep, Isleep with a sadness which fills my heart and always tears come to my eyes."

UmmeFareenaMarzookthe wife ofMahmudi, sobbed in court while her victim impact statement was read aloud. It describedhow she had becomeoverwhelmed withgrief, has had to leave her job and has serious difficulty "maintainingself-care and basiclifefunctions."

"I have been having terrible nightmaresevery night and Ifrequentlywake up sweating andcrying."

McMahon said hecouldn't do a better jobcapturingthe impact ofMcArthur's actions than Greg Dunn, a friend of Kinsman.

Dunn, in his statement, wrote that the day he found out about Kinsman's death, his"heart fractured."

"My life has been truly fractured. My heart, souland spirit havebeen fractured."

McMahon acknowledged other indirect victims as well, like Karen Fraser, the homeowner of the property whereMcArthur had buried the remains of the eight men. While not on the same scale of loved ones, Fraser too had suffered from McArthur's depravity, McMahon said,and"must live the nightmare of the murderedvictims being concealed on their property for up to eightyears."

Manycommunitieshad also suffered fromMcArthur'scrimes, he said, including the immigrant and refugeecommunities, which McArthurdisproportionatelytargeted. Meanwhile, the LGBTcommunityhas been "devastated" and"will never be the same," he said.

He referenced the victim impact statement ofRev.DeanaDudley, of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, who had written that it's impossible to overstate the impact of the murders on the LGBTcommunity.

"It's been horrific," she told CBC's Meagan Fitzpatrick after the sentencing Friday. "It's been a substantial trauma to so many people."

And Dudley talks about why the recovery might be slow.

The challenges around recovery

6 years ago

Duration 0:55

Rev. Deana Dudley, of Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, says work must be done in order to restore a sense of security.