EXCLUSIVE: Karen Fraser had no idea what was going on when police arrived at her home and said she had five minutes to leave.
“Half of me stepped back and stared in horror,” she told Fox News. “The other half tried to think well. They did not have a search warrant and I was aware of it. I really do not have to pay attention to them if I do not want to. ‘
“But when the officer said that a serious crime had been committed and that Bruce McArthur had been arrested, I then knew it was serious,” she continued. “The officer was clearly upset, so something big happened. It was the first of many decisions to have confidence in the system. So we worked together and left.”
In 2018, McArthur is accused of sexually assaulting, killing and breaking men he met in Toronto’s Gay Village district.
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Canadian serial killer Bruce McArthur is the subject of a new true crime documentary about oxygen.
(Oxygen)
His case is the subject of a new true crime documentary entitled “Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur”, part of the Oxygen channel’s “Serial Killer Week”. It features interviews with investigators, as well as Fraser.
At the time of the arrest, the 69-year-old was storing his landscaping equipment at Fraser’s home in exchange for mowing her lawn and tending the garden. Fraser was shocked to learn that the quiet, gentle family man, gardener and shopping center Santa was responsible for such heinous crimes.
“Someone is innocent until convicted,” she explained. ‘Just because the police believed he was guilty, he did not convict him. I defended him for a while. That’s when one night the detective just said to me, ‘Karen, don’ t waste your sympathy on that man. We ‘I’ve never had as much evidence against someone as we had against him. Do not waste your good feelings on that man. “And that was it. ‘
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Karen Fraser spoke about Canadian serial killer Bruce McArthur in a new documentary about Oxygen.
(Oxygen)
Fraser met McArthur more than a decade ago through his sister, with whom she was friends. At the time, McArthur had just launched a gardening business and needed a place to store his equipment. Fraser, who owns a double garage, decided to make an arrangement with him in exchange for freshly cut grass.
“I thought I made the best deal ever,” she admitted. “He was very efficient and liked his job. He was very talented in it. He was very pleasant and spoke with love about his children. He was also an excellent grandfather. He was just a kind man who seemed very happy. with the choices he made. in life. “
At one point, Fraser said there were rumors that gay men were disappearing from the Village. She even saw kites of missing men. However, she never suspected that McArthur could possibly be involved.
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The bagpipe Bob Stobie plays a lament for Bruce McArthur’s victims in Mallory Cresent 53, where many of his victims were found.
(Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
“I never once saw him lose his temper with anyone,” she said. “He was considerate, generous and cheerful.”
She remembers meeting Skandaraj Navaratnam, a 40-year-old who moved from Canada to Sri Lanka as a refugee in the ’90s.
“Bruce always had people helping him,” she said. “So I did not think much about it. But I remember that Skandaraj was very charming. He immediately caught your attention. A fantastic smile. He was well dressed and always laughed. I never saw him again.”
Navaratnam disappeared in September 2010, reports the BBC.
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On the altar sits an urn with the remains of Dean Lisowick. His funeral is in the Chapel of St. James-the-Less held in Toronto. 2 November 2018.
(Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Fraser also recalled meeting Majeed Kayhan. According to the BBC, the 58-year-old was an Afghan immigrant who had a wife and children, but also visited the Village and kept an apartment in the area.
“I felt very sorry for him,” she said. “He tried to work, but he was badly dressed. My impression was that he had never touched a shovel in his life. He clearly did not want to do that. I remember that Bruce was just irritated. About three weeks “Later, I sent an e-mail to Bruce asking if he could keep his job. I never got an answer.”
The BBC said Kayhan’s son was reported missing in the autumn of 2012.
Fraser would later learn that the men were two of the eight victims who killed Fraser. The remains of seven men were found in large planters near her home. The remains of the eighth man were found in a ravine behind the same property.
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Investigators are searching for compost in search of human remains in the back of Mallory Crescent 53 in Toronto, July 5, 2018. The property is linked to the Bruce McArthur murder investigation.
(Oxygen)
“Majeed was seen about five yards from where I saw him leaning on the shovel,” Fraser said.
Fraser noticed that the discovery of body parts haunted her.
“If we had seen the flowers hanging slightly on a hot day, my partner and I would have watered them,” she said. “So we watered the planters where the victims were buried. I can not give you words to describe how incredible it was. And cruel. It’s just every negative word you can come up with. Sometimes your mind is just overwhelmed by it. . everyone.”
“But]we lived about a six-minute drive from Bruce’s apartment,” she continued. “We were comfortable. He had other customers in the area, but our property is on the edge of the Valley. It’s very quiet and he could do whatever he wanted. And mostly no one would notice. So it was the perfect I think he was very careful and meticulous. ‘
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The family of Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam cries next to his coffin. Kanagarathnam. Bruce McArthur is charged with first-degree murder in his death.
(Rene Johnston / Toronto Star / Getty Images)
In 2019, McArthur pleaded guilty to eight charges of first-degree murder. Prosecutor Michael Cantlon said the cases ranging from 2010 to 2017 involved sexual assault or violent incarceration. Several of the victims were apparently strangled.
Most of the victims were of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent and lived on the fringes of Canadian society. Their disappearances originally attracted little attention.
Members of the LGBTQ community have long expressed concern about a serial killer and demanded answers in light of the disappearance. An initial task force of the police in 2012 did not lead to an arrest.
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Toronto Mayor John Tory (left) attended an anointing ceremony at The Metropolitan Community Church, which held a prayer vigil by candlelight for the victims of serial killer Bruce McArthur. February 4, 2018.
(Bernard Weil / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
That would only come to the fore with the disappearance of Andrew Kinsman, a 49-year-old LGBTQ activist and former bartender, in 2017. He had many friends and they quickly noticed that he was disappearing. So do the police.
Kinsman was last seen on a surveillance video getting into McArthur’s van. His DNA was later found inside, as well as the ligature that was allegedly used to strangle him.
McArthur has since been charged with the deaths of Kinsman, Kayhan, Navaratnam, as well as Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Abdulbasir Faizi Kirushna Kanagaratnam and Selim Esen.
He was sentenced to life in prison.
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‘Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur’ is a special two-hour premiere.
(Oxygen)
Fraser hopes the documentary will warn viewers to be aware of their surroundings and the people they meet.
“We need to be aware of each other,” she said. “It was a terrible thing for so many people. One of the police told me that he had never seen a case that went out so far, that became a ripple effect that hurt so many people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.