Serial killer fear as two gay men murdered
Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia issued a public warning on Friday for the city’s gay community to protect themselves after two gay men were found murdered.
“Both victims were gay men who were known to frequent cruising areas in Halifax regional municipality,” Deputy Chief Chris McNeil of Halifax Regional Police said in a statement to the media.
“We do not know if their sexual orientation or the cruising areas played a factor in their deaths.
“These circumstances, though, cannot be ruled out as contributing factors.
“Therefore we are issuing a public advisory for potential safety concerns in cruising areas.”
According to the Herald Chronicle, the unusual news conference came on the heels of the murders of Michael Paul Knott, 44, of Timberlea and Trevor Charles Brewster, 45, of Cole Harbour.
Both men were reported missing before their bodies turned up.
An off-road driver found the body of Knott last Saturday in a wooded area in Mill Cove, Lunenburg County.
A man collecting recyclables discovered Brewster’s body on Wednesday under a boardwalk next to Frenchman Lake in Dartmouth.
The Herald Chronicle reports that despite the warning, police wouldn’t speculate that a serial killer is targeting gay men.
“At this point, we can’t make that conclusion,” McNeil’s statement continued.
“What I’ve said is that we have sufficient information that has caused us, in the interests of public safety, to make this advisory.”
The Royal Canadian Mountain Police and Halifax Regional Police stated that there are “sufficient similarities’ between the two homicides to combine the investigations.
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