The case of Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur has been settled. Today McArthur pled guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. Toronto criminal lawyer Ed Prutschi discusses this fast-paced case with NewsTalk1010’s Jerry Agar.
Prutschi states that there were many hints this case would end in a plea deal and not a trial. It’s only been a little over a year since McArthur was apprehended. His next court date is set for February 4th when it’s expected that he will be sentenced.
Agar asked Prutschi from a legal perspective what’s in it for McArthur to plead guilty? Prutschi emphasized that the Crown gave up little to none in this plea deal, securing eight counts of murder. McArthur was facing the inevitable, and likely thought beginning a prison sentence, which would provide him with a few small liberations, would be better.
Some citizens are worried McArthur will get leniency, like how murders Terri-Lynn McClintic and Elizabeth Wettlaufer were sent to healing lodges. Prutschi says that’s unlikely, and hopes that the Crown has learned from the backlash they received over those cases. Eventually, McArthur could be moved from a maximum-security prison to a medium security one, but he will never be back on the streets. Prutschi is confident that McArthur will die in jail.
Overall, this is the best of a bad situation. A trial would have taken time and money, not to mention the emotional pain it would have caused the families of the victims, the LGBTQ+ community, and the city of Toronto.