Tears streaking his cheeks, Kishokumar Kanagaratnam was doubled over on his brother’s casket, at times pounding it with his fist. He was crying out, anger and grief spewing from his mouth.

In his native Tamil, over and over, he screamed questions, asking how Canada could let his brother to be killed, why he hadn’t been taken care of. When he finally began walking away from the casket, he collapsed to the ground, mourners rushing to his aid.

After travelling to Toronto from Europe and Sri Lanka, the family of alleged Bruce McArthur victim Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam held a visitation Sunday, seven months after the alleged serial killer was charged in his death.

Mourners filled a Markham funeral home, many going directly to the mahogany-coloured casket cloaked in a colourful flower garland. Some sobbed for minutes, others held long embraces.

As mourners came and went, Santhanaladchumy Kanagaratnam, who had travelled from Sri Lanka, took a seat directly beside her son’s casket, her face sullen and her hands clasped in her lap.

“She’s very angry,” said Piranavan Thankavel, family spokesperson and friend of Kanagaratnam. “As a mom, she is angry with everyone.”

Photos of a smiling Kanagaratnam flashed on TV monitors inside the room, showing a happy childhood and adolescence in his hometown of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Later, after arriving in Canada, he stood bundled up in winter jacket, snow capping the evergreen trees behind him.

Just 37 years old at the time of his death, Kanagaratnam is alleged to be McArthur’s youngest victim, killed sometime between September and December 2015. He was the eighth alleged victim to be named by police, and investigators had initially struggled to identify him.

In a last resort move in March, police reluctantly released an image of a deceased man they believed was a McArthur victim, hoping to prompt tips from the public. Though police have never officially revealed the origin of the image, a police source has told the Star investigators uncovered a cache of photos of deceased men on McArthur’s computer.

One month later, Toronto police confirmed they had identified the victim as Kanagaratnam, who had never been reported missing in Canada. They charged McArthur, a 67-year-old former landscaper, with first-degree murder in his death.

McArthur is also charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 58; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40, and Abdulbasir Faizi, 42. All of the alleged victims have a connection to the Church and Wellesley community, Toronto’s Gay Village.

Kanagaratnam was among the 492 refugees aboard the ship MV Sun Sea, which arrived on Vancouver Island in 2010. He later travelled from British Columbia to Ontario, at one point settling in Scarborough. Multiple friends have said Kanagaratnam’s refugee claim was denied and then the appeal refused. It devastated him, they said.

Many within Toronto’s Tamil community, including fellow MV Sun Sea passengers, lost track of him as he continued living in the city as an undocumented person. He took odd jobs and began living in the streets, a vulnerability that friends have said may have led him to McArthur.

Friends have told the Star they did not believe Kanagaratnam was gay, but he had stayed on the streets in the area, or may have met McArthur through a landscaping gig. His family has previously told the Star they did not report him missing because he was undocumented, and they assumed he had gone into hiding.

Thankavel, the family spokesperson and MV Sun Sea passenger, said he and other refugees are doing their best to support Kanagaratnam’s siblings and mother, who are also still reeling from the recent death of their father and husband, Kanagaratnam Naarayanapillai.

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After the memorial Sunday, Kanagartanam was to be cremated. His ashes will be brought back to Sri Lanka, where they will be scattered in the ocean.

McArthur is due back in court Friday.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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