Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of eight men, has waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Clean-shaven and wearing a black V-neck sweater over a light blue shirt and jeans, McArthur appeared in person before a judge, the first time he’d been present in court in months. He didn’t speak a word during the brief appearance, his eyes never glancing over at the victims’ families, who sat in the first two rows of the courtroom.

McArthur, 67, is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in homicides alleged to have occurred between 2010 and 2017. All of the alleged victims had ties to Toronto’s Church and Wellesley area, the Gay Village.

The move to bypass a preliminary hearing speeds up the court process, eliminating a pre-trial court procedure that would have required the presentation of evidence, including witness testimony.

Speaking to reporters after McArthur’s appearance, Toronto police Det. David Dickinson, one of the homicide investigators on the case, said he was happy the process has been sped up for the witnesses and the victims’ families.

“We’re going to focus on moving forward,” he said.

Dickinson said a team of six officers is continuing to probe McArthur’s background, and any possible links to cold cases, though none have been established to date.

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James Miglin, the lawyer representing McArthur in court, declined to comment Monday.

Haran Vijayanathan, executive director of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP), a group that has been advocating on behalf of victims and families in the case, said he was relieved the court process wasn’t being drawn out.

“I think the sooner that we can put this to rest and the families have answers, the better it is for folks,” he said.

People who are accused of a crime waive the preliminary hearing for a variety of reasons, including because they intend to resolve the charges and plead guilty, said Michael Lacy, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and who is not connected to the McArthur case.

“By waiving the preliminary inquiry, the matter gets transferred to the Superior Court, where they can have a meeting with the judge and discuss resolution of the charges,” Lacy said, speaking generally about the court process.

Dickinson would not comment on the possibility of a plea when asked by reporters Monday.

McArthur, a self-employed landscaper, was arrested at his Thorncliffe Park Dr. apartment in January. He is charged in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 58; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40, Abdulbasir Faizi, 42, and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam, 37.

The remains of the eight men were found at a home on Mallory Cres. where McArthur worked as a landscaper. The dismembered remains of seven of the men were found buried inside large planters; remains later linked to Kayhan were located this summer, during an exhaustive excavation of a forested ravine behind the Leaside home.

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Police have said McArthur was first identified as a person of interest in connection to Kinsman’s June 2017 disappearance. Recently unsealed court documents — released following an application by the Star and other media — revealed police were watching McArthur for weeks before his arrest, after uncovering evidence Kinsman had been killed and that McArthur was a suspect.

In the fall of 2017, police began tracking McArthur’s vehicle and following him around Toronto and Mississauga, watching as he travelled to various landscaping gigs and fast-food restaurants. They also obtained a log of the use of his key fob, which enabled police to see his comings and goings from the building, and later obtained a tracking warrant for cellphone, the documents state.

In December, more than a month before his arrest, police surreptitiously entered McArthur’s apartment to access the digital files on his computer, the documents show. Days later, police installed a covert video camera on public property near 53 Mallory Cres., capturing the home’s garage door.

McArthur is due back in court Nov. 5.

With files from Rosie DiManno