Arrest in Toronto Gay Village missing men case sparks questions about police role

The arrest and first-degree murder charges againsta suspect in the case of two men who disappeared from downtown Toronto have provided some sense of relief in the city's Gay Village but raisedquestions and criticismsabout how police handled the investigation.

"I sort of feel like the police department has egg on their face because we told them a while ago that we feltthatit was a serial killer and we also felt as though there was a connection between the peoplewho were missing," Alphonso King, a community resident and friend of victimAndrew Kinsman,told CBCNews.

"I think it's important that they understand that when a community speaks up and says 'We think that somethingis goingon here' listen."

• Bruce McArthur appears in court to face murder charges
• What we know about McArthur

Police established Project Prism to investigate the disappearances of Kinsman and Selim Esen. Kinsman, 49, went missing from Toronto's Cabbagetown neighbourhood in June, while Esen, 44, was last seen in the Yonge and Bloor area last April. Both areas are close to the predominantly gay neighbourhood of Church and Wellesley.

Project Prism was also created toshare information with Project Houston, another task force looking into the 2012 disappearances of three other men in the Church and Wellesley area.

'Never saw any police'

But King suggested the community felt abandoned by police, that they were more concerned about photoopsthan actually "looking after our community and making sure that we're safe."

"Ididn'tnotice any more presence in the village after we expressed concerns. You would have thought that there would have been more people on patrol and more peoplewalkingabout. But Inever saw any police," he said.

On Thursday, Toronto police announced they had a suspect in custody, Bruce McArthur, 66, of Toronto, who has been charged in connection with the deaths of Kinsman and Esen.

However, police also indicated thatMcArthurwastied to other victims who have yet to be identified.

It seemed like an about-face for the police, who last December held a news conference in which they attempted to assuage anyfears that a serial killer may be loose in the community.

• What the case of a man who vanished in the Village 23 years ago can tell us about Toronto's missing

On Thursday, when asked about theprevious comments denying the presence of a serial killer, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said: "In policing, what we do is we follow the evidence, and what I said at the time ... was accurate at that time."

Those comments provided little comfort to community activists like Nicki Ward, who said they had pushed police to acknowledge the missing person status of those who had disappeared.

• McArthur charged with 1st-degree murders of 2 men
• Toronto police 'ignore, dismiss, diminish' missing gay men: critics
• No evidence of a serial killer in Church-Wellesley, police say

"We are validated in our concerns, but there's nojoy to be had in that," said Ward, director of the Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood Association. "Why weren't welistenedto earlier?Perhapssomelives could have been saved if that was the case."

The disappearances hadrattled many members of the Gay Village, who were told by community leaders to be cautious when going out. Posters about the missing men havebeen plastered all over the neighbourhood, while community members launched social media sites to keep a focus on the issue.

'A lot of tension'

"There was a lot of tension, a lot of people looking over their shoulder," saidJesseCalleya,a barber at The Men's Room. "Everybody would walk hometogetheror take an Ubertogether justbecauseyou never knew. A lot of people werejustbuddyingup.

"And now they have somebody in custody. I feel there's been a lot of weight lifted off the shoulders of people in the community."

Calleya said he believes police were taking the investigation seriously, but that they weren't keeping the community updated on its progress.

"Thepeopleinthe community felt like they werebeingabandoned and felt like nothing was happening."

However, community resident RajKalanghad nothing but praise for the police.

"It's not easy to trackdownall these things. I think they did the best."

'A great job'

Michael Sunley, who also lives in the neighbourhood, said police "have done a great job.

"I acknowledge and recognize when police are doing their job, they can't tell you everything," he said. "Because if you compromise the investigation, that's a bigger problem than sharing everything with the public."

Sunley's partner, Paul Hyde, agreed.

"Ultimatelywe always felt confident someonewould get caught."