
The defence had asked that sentences for all eight first-degree murder counts be served concurrently, which would make McArthur eligible for parole in 25 years.
Parole eligibility was the only question for McMahon to settle as first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, and the judge said McArthur's age and guilty plea were factors in his decision.
McArthur pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the deaths of eight men in a series of crimes dating back to 2010.
"Sentencing Mr. McArthur to parole ineligibility until he is 116 years of age is symbolic".
Bruce McArthur, who pleaded guilty to eight murders that brought fear to Toronto's gay community, was sentenced on February 8, 2019, to life with no chance of parole for 25 years.
"I'm not happy with it, not happy at all", said Nicole Borthwick, a friend of victims Andrew Kinsman, Dean Lisowick and Selim Esen told reporters.
The remains of an eighth victim were later discovered in a ravine behind the property.
Numerous victims, although not all, were from the Gay Village, a neighborhood in Toronto known for its predominantly gay population.
Haran Vijayanathan, executive director of the South Asian Alliance for Aids Prevention and a long-time advocate for the victims and their families, praised the team of detectives that caught McArthur, but expressed anger that it seemed to take the murder of a white man, Kinsman, to spur action.
Toronto police have faced criticism over the length of time it took them to confirm that a serial killer was stalking the Gay Village and to arrest McArthur.
McArthur's string of murders has prompted an inquiry by a retired judge into how the Toronto police handle missing persons cases and whether their investigations are influenced by the sexuality or race of those who have vanished.
"These men must never be forgotten", he said.
Abdulbasir Faizi, 42, is reported missing to Peel Regional Police, west of Toronto.
His reign of terror, begun in 2010 and only brought to an end 13 months ago, stole the lives of eight souls loved and missed and yet it's as if he were allowed to kill seven of them for free. All of them had ties to the city's LGBTQ community.
McArthur had been in the middle of restraining a potential ninth victim identified as "John" when police arrested him.
Two police investigations into the missing men returned no leads, even though McArthur's name came up during one investigation, and he was as a witness (not a suspect) during the later one.
McArthur posed their bodies for photographs, with numerous pictures featuring the same fur coat. He suddenly left his wife and two children and moved to Toronto in 1997, where he became well known within the gay community.
The details were made public this week by Crown attorney Michael Cantlon as part of the sentencing of McArthur, who lured the men to his home, strangled them and dismembered them, according to CTV News. Craig Harper, another prosecutor, said the term "serial killer" was "woefully inadequate to describe his moral blameworthiness".
Kinsman, a LGBT activist, former bartender and an apartment building superintendent who knew McArthur for about 15 years, was an exception.