The trial of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, who is accused in the deaths of eight men over the span of seven years, has been set for Jan. 6, 2020.

McArthur, 67, made a brief in-person appearance at an Ontario Superior Court in Toronto Friday. He last month waived his right to a preliminary hearing, a move that sent his case directly to trial.

A judicial pretrial — where the judge, Crown prosecutor and lawyer for the accused meet behind closed doors — took place immediately before McArthur’s appearance Friday.

McArthur appeared in a grey cable-knit sweater, plaid shirt and jeans. He was straight-faced as the judge explained when the trial would be held.

The self-employed landscaper is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of men between 2010 and 2017. All of the alleged victims had ties to Toronto’s Church and Wellesley community — the city’s Gay Village.

The alleged victims are: 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.

McArthur was arrested in January at his Thorncliffe Park apartment complex and has been in custody ever since. The arrest — initially on two counts of first-degree murder — marked the expansion of a sprawling probe that continues today.

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As police fanned out across the GTA, searching properties linked to McArthur through his landscaping business, investigators homed in on one property, a Leaside residence at 53 Mallory Cres. There they discovered dismembered, skeletal human remains, which were later forensically tested and linked — through fingerprint, dental and DNA records — to seven of McArthur’s alleged victims.

The remains of the eighth alleged victim were later located during an extensive excavation behind the Leaside home, in a steep, forested ravine.

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This fall, the victims’ remains were released to families and friends, allowing for funeral or remembrance ceremonies. The most recent took place on Sunday, where Kanagaratnam’s family, who had travelled from Europe and Sri Lanka, said a tearful and angry goodbye.

Toronto police are continuing to probe historic homicides, looking for possible links to McArthur, but investigators have recently said none had been found. The lead homicide detective on the McArthur case, acting Insp. Hank Idsinga, said in July that police had nothing to indicate there are more than eight alleged victims.