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Missing from the Village

The Story of Serial Killer Bruce McArthur, the Search for Justice, and the System That Failed Toronto's Queer Community

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The tragic and resonant story of the disappearance of eight men—the victims of serial killer Bruce McArthur—from Toronto's queer community.
 
Shortlisted for the 2021 Toronto Book Awards


In 2013, the Toronto Police Service announced that the disappearances of three men—Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, and Majeed Kayhan—from Toronto's gay village were, perhaps, linked. When the leads ran dry, the investigation was shut down, on paper classified as "open but suspended." By 2015, investigative journalist Justin Ling had begun to retrace investigators' steps, convinced there was evidence of a serial killer. Meanwhile, more men would go missing, and police would continue to deny that there was a threat to the community. On January 18, 2018, Bruce McArthur, a landscaper, would be arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. In February 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of eight men.
     This extraordinary book tells the complete story of the McArthur murders. Based on more than five years of in-depth reporting, this is also a story of police failure, of how the queer community responded, and the story of the eight men who went missing and the lives they left behind. In telling that story, Justin Ling uncovers the latent homophobia and racism that kept this case unsolved and unseen. This gripping book reveals how police agencies across the country fail to treat missing persons cases seriously, and how policies and laws, written at every level of government, pushed McArthur's victims out of the light and into the shadows.
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    • Booklist

      July 21, 2021
      Journalist Ling chronicles a string of baffling disappearances from Toronto's gay village over a period of several years. Due to the frequency of disappearances, the community feared they were being targeted by a serial killer, and the police's initial lack of response did nothing to assuage that. Eventually, it turned out that there was a killer targeting them--a member of their own community, who no one would have guessed capable of such ghastly crimes. Ling differs from many true crime writers in that he discusses the victims' humanity and character traits, and gives readers a window into what they meant to those in their lives. He provides background on the murderer as well, but it is not the main focus, which is a welcome change and makes the victims' fates all the more heartbreaking. The timeline is disjointed, which can be confusing, but it's also realistic as investigations are not always linear. Ling's searing critique of the Toronto Police initially blowing off the disappearances rings especially true today, while the eventual arrest of Bruce McArthur feels like karmic retribution.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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