The sisters of a Toronto man who police believe was murdered by a killer targeting gay men are satisfied with how police handled the case, and they hope investigators will soon find their brother鈥檚 body so they can lay him to rest.
Sisters Patricia Kinsman and Karen Coles said they 鈥渘ever thought鈥� police would arrest a suspect as quickly as they did.
Andrew Kinsman, 49, went missing last spring. Bruce McArthur, a self-employed landscaper who frequented the Church and Wellesley village, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Kinsman and 44-year-old Selim Esen.
Police said Thursday they believe there may be more victims. On Friday, CTV News learned that evidence pertaining to four possible homicides was found in the suspect鈥檚 apartment.
The sisters said they usually knew whether their brother was dating someone, but they never heard him mention McArthur.
Toronto police have been criticized by some within the LGBTQ community, who accused police of ignoring ongoing calls from individuals who long-suspected the cases might be linked. Last month, police said they didn鈥檛 believe the missing persons cases were connected.
The sisters dismissed those claims and insisted that investigators did everything they could.
鈥淓stablishing the link between them is the difficult part. You can鈥檛 fault the police for taking the time that they do,鈥� Coles said.
In hopes of finding their missing brother, the sisters organized searches across the city鈥檚 east end beginning last summer. With help from their brother鈥檚 friends, co-workers and volunteers from the LGBTQ community, they scoured Riverdale Park and wooded stretches of the Don Valley. Their final search was on Dec. 9.
鈥淲e looked for him in the rain, in the heat, and in the snow,鈥� Kinsman said.
The sisters said the news of their brother鈥檚 death is difficult to comprehend, but they鈥檝e long been prepared.
鈥淔or me, I鈥檝e been ready since he went missing that day, because he would鈥檝e never left his 17-year-old cat in the apartment alone without food and water for three days. He would never do that,鈥� Kinsman said.
Coles added: 鈥淏ut there was always hope. You always have hope that he鈥檚 going to be found alive somewhere 鈥� That鈥檚 the hard part when someone is missing. You live with hope and you live with despair.鈥�
They want their brother to be remembered as a generous, hard-working person who had a lot more life to live.
鈥淚 will remember Andrew as a young boy with long blonde hair and bangs, wearing his tie-dyed T-shirts and embroidered blue jeans, riding his mini bike on our mother鈥檚 property,鈥� Kinsman said. 鈥淎ndrew was 49 when he was murdered. There was no reason for him to die.鈥�
Asked what they would say to McArthur if given the chance, Kinsman said 鈥渘othing.鈥�
鈥淭o me, he is nothing,鈥� she said, adding that she plans to attend every court date.
The sisters said that their next hope is for police to locate their brother鈥檚 body. They won鈥檛 organize a memorial service until his remains are found.
In the meantime, the sisters are still coming to terms with the news.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not what we wanted. We wanted him to be found alive. But at least now we know instead of spending every day thinking and wondering and worrying is he injured, is he hurt, is someone hurting him, at least that part is over,鈥� Coles said.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
