Survivor of the Santa Claus serial killer explains the one reason he thinks he’s still here today
A survivor of the 'Santa Claus serial killer' has opened up about his terrifying encounter, revealing the reason he believes he survived.
Convicted murderer Bruce McArthur is believed to be the most prolific killer in Toronto's history.
Much like Jeffrey Dahmer, McArthur largely targeted the LGBTQ+ community and POC, having murdered and dismembered eight men he met in the Canadian city's Gay Village between 2010 and 2017.
It took years for the police to catch up with him, and after being arrested in 2018 he pleaded guilty to all eight murders.
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His guilty plea meant the details of the killings were never picked apart in the way they would had he gone to trial.
But this all changed with the arrival of BBC Three's new documentary series Santa Claus: The Serial Killer.
British journalist Mobeen Azhar headed an investigation into the crimes of McArthur, who worked as a shopping mall Santa and a landscaper before his incarceration.
Mobeen interviewed a number of people who knew McArthur or were impacted by his killing spree, including Josh Cleaver – one of the murderer's survivors.
Josh spoke with UNILAD about his lucky escape, and how the incident impacted him for years after.
Back in 2012, Josh had been working as an escort when he met McArthur.
"I had put out some adverts on Craigslist, one of which he responded to," Josh said.
"When I met him he seemed relatively normal and friendly but my legs were very shaky, which makes me think subconsciously maybe I was aware that something wasn’t quite right.
"At the time nothing came across as unusual to me, but looking back I definitely can see some red flags."
Josh, who had been struggling with drug addiction and was just 25 years old at the time, hadn't realised just how accurate his gut feeling had been.
After entering McArthur's Toronto apartment, he was blindfolded and restrained.
"But the blindfold wasn’t too tight so I was able to remove it, which made me feel more comfortable," he explained.
"When the blindfold was removed, McArthur stood with a knife in his hand and a cold look in his eyes, which I can still imagine now."
Despite the fact that McArthur had killed two men by the time they had met up, he let Josh go and surprisingly asked him to breakfast that morning.
Josh believes his escape resulted from a conversation they'd had earlier on in the night when McArthur asked him if anyone knew where he was.
"He wasn’t happy that my boyfriend at the time knew that I was there, and I think that is probably the reason that I am still here today," he said.
When the news broke of the killer's crimes, Josh explained: "It didn’t sink in initially, it didn’t feel real and I started to debate whether I was actually already dead as crazy as that sounds – it took a long time to process.
"At first I felt as though I was holding back any emotions because I felt guilty at the fact that I was the one lucky to get away and this stopped me from reaching out for the help that I certainly needed initially."
Josh still suffers from PTSD as a result of the encounter and the struggles he went through in his past.
But he's overcome his addiction and now dedicates his life to helping others, working as a program coordinator for Substance Use and Contingency Management in Vancouver.
"I hope that my story encourages people to reach out and get the support that they need in life," he said.
"I should have asked for help sooner, so I hope people learn from my experience and get the support that they need."
Mobeen also spoke with UNILAD about the case, and why he chose to focus on it for the documentary series.
"Most of the men who lost their lives were, like me, brown skinned gay men from immigrant communities," he explained.
"I chose to cover the story because I’m a journalist but there was also a personal element in chasing this story.
"In the series we see some of McArthur’s victims were dealing with housing instability, addiction and stigma. We all have a part to play is taking care of each other."
Another topic of focus in the series is the fact that certain aspects of the case were missed by the police, which meant McArthur was able to carry out his offences for so long.
"Figures of authority like the police must always aspire to better serve the communities they wish to protect," added Mobeen.
"We must all take the time to think about how we are taking care of our loved ones and how we might express compassion to a stranger in a crowd.
"There is no way to guarantee that everyone is safe from exploitation all of the time but I think open conversations and compassion are a good way forward.
"I want the series to fuel some of that."
Santa Claus: The Serial Killer is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
Daisy Phillipson