A Sri Lankan who disappeared in 2010 in Toronto was alleged to have a romantic history with a suspected serial killer according to a friend of the missing man, says CBC Television.
Skandaraj Navaratnam, known as Skanda, had met the alleged killer Bruce McArthur in 1999 and they began a relationship in the early 2000s, according to the friend who knew Skanda. McArthur is facing five charges of first degree murder and according to police there can be many more victims.
The 66 year-old landscaper was arrested in Toronto on January 18 on suspicion of killing Andrew Kinsman, 49, and Selim Esen, 44. Both men went missing from the city’s Gay Village last year. At a press conference on Monday police revealed that McArthur had been charged in the deaths of three more, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Marmudi and Dean Lisowick.
The name of Navaratnam, who has been missing since 2010, appeared in media reports on Monday. “He was definitely dating the guy, and he started working for him as a landscaper,” said a person who spoke to Toronto Star daily. Navaratnam was last seen leaving a nightclub in September, 2010. McArthur has not been officially linked to his disappearance.
Another friend of Navaratnam said he wasn’t aware of a relationship with McArthur, but did confirm to CBC News that the two knew each other. “Skanda introduced me back in 2008 or 2009 to McArthur as somebody he knew,” he said.
Navaratnam has been described as “incredibly social, gregarious, outgoing,” but he never spoke about his family. The friend said, occasionally he would relay concerns about immigration authorities, as he was a refugee from Sri Lanka, and what would happen if he went back to his family there.
The two friends eventually drifted apart, but he bumped into Navaratnam one last time at a nightclub in 2008. “We hugged, I talked to him about everything,” he told the Star. “He was still doing the landscaping, was still dating or was still with Bruce at the time, and that’s where we ended the conversation.”
Another friend said he saw Navaratnam at a Starbucks the day before he went missing. “He was all excited because he had a dog. You know, things were looking up for him.”
Navaratnam’s brother told the Toronto Star after the reports about his connection to the alleged killer: “We have been waiting for an answer for 7 years and now there is this news which is devastating to our family.”
Jody Becker, a friend of Navaratnam told Xtra, an LGBT magazine, in June 2013 that Navaratnam may have gone into hiding. Another person who knew him told the magazine: “When he disappeared, it was a shock to all of us. I think something probably scared him. Skanda was a political refugee in Canada from Sri Lanka. He was brought here because he got into some trouble with the Sri Lankan government. It was political. I think he was [an activist].”
“I know he couldn’t stay in Sri Lanka because he would have been killed,” he said. “It was not unusual for Navaratnam to disappear for short periods of time, but, three years is exceptionally long”.
Police said human remains belonging to at least three people were uncovered during an exhaustive search of a home, where McArthur stored items for his landscaping business.
The remains, which police said were hidden at the bottom of large flower pots, have not yet been identified, adding that they have not ruled out that some of the remains could belong to victims who have already been named. “They are skeletal remains and they have been dismembered so we have to wait for DNA tests,” police said.
Already police have conducted extensive investigations on 30 properties where McArthur did landscape work and encouraged any homeowners who hired him to reach out to police.
A person with Middle Eastern background speaking to a TV reporter last night in Toronto’s gay village said he had seen McArthur several times. He said the alleged killer was fond of people from that background. Three of his five victims are of Middle Eastern origins.
When 66-year-old McArthur, who was under police surveillance, was arrested on January 18 they found a young man tied to a bed in his 19th floor apartment. Officers were forced to make a quick decision to enter his home as they observed the man entering the Thorncliffe Park high-rise where McArthur lived, according to Toronto Star.
The accused man was married with a wife, children and a home in Oshawa, east of Toronto, according to reports. McArthur has hired one of the best legal firms in the country to represent him.
