At last, some good news for the mother of Tess Richey.
It came with one sentence issued Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada – killer Kalen Schlatter has been denied leave to appeal his conviction for first-degree murder.
And so it’s the end of the road for the sick man who lured Christine Hermeston’s youngest daughter down a dark driveway of a vacant Church St. house under renovation.
“He’s gone now. He’s out of our lives,” said Richey’s mom, the relief singing across the long-distance line from North Bay. “Even though we kind of figured, the stress never leaves until you hear for sure that he can’t appeal.”
The criminal courts have spoken. Now the killer must answer to the civil ones.
“The Richey family now has a clear path to seek civil justice,” their lawyer Mike Smitiuch said. “While nothing will replace their enormous loss, it is hoped that this process will lead to greater accountability and answers – particularly regarding how Tess’ lifeless body was found by her mother instead of the police.”
Richey’s mom and four sisters are suing Schlatter for her death as well as Toronto Police for what they claim was an inadequate search and for allegedly spreading the false suggestion that she was an escort. They also claim a Church St. bar overserved Richey and the companies renovating the property where she was found hadn’t ensured it was properly lit.
They’ve all denied the claims against them and none of the allegations have been proven in the $20 million lawsuit.
“I don’t even want the money. What is money without Tess?” Hermeston asked. “But I’m thinking of my other children. That killer destroyed their lives.”
On Nov. 24, 2017, Richey was a 22-year-old aspiring flight attendant who’d gone to Crews & Tangos with a high school girlfriend to drown her sorrows after a recent breakup. Schlatter latched on to the intoxicated women after they were asked to leave the bar and they all wandered downtown for a few hours until her girlfriend headed home at about 4 a.m., unknowingly leaving her with a predator who liked to choke his sexual partners.
Richey had also called an Uber to leave – but she would never make it home.
The added tragedy of this horrific story is that despite a police “search,” Richey’s body wasn’t found until four days later when her desperate mother travelled from North Bay to comb the streets, ultimately making the most horrific discovery in a stairwell just 40 metres from where she had been last seen.
“I still have flashbacks of seeing little Tess,” her mom said. “You don’t get over that.”
Last month, she was upset to learn misconduct charges were withdrawn against the two police officers who failed to find Richey.
Const. Michael Jones and Const. Alan McCullough will instead face discipline at the unit level as part of a restorative resolution, which will include being docked 40 hours of pay.
The tribunal heard the constables have also agreed to help improve police training.
At his trial, the jury heard Richey had been choked to death and Schlatter’s semen was found on her pant leg and his saliva on her bra. His cellmate testified Schlatter confessed to being high on MDMA and booze when he choked her and masturbated on her after she turned him down for sex.
The security video would be hard to refute: Forty-four minutes after they were both seen entering the laneway, Schlatter reappeared alone.
Convicted of first-degree murder in 2020, Schlatter was sentenced to an automatic life term.
“Your sexual appetite,” said the trial judge, “led you literally to take an innocent young woman by the hand down a path to her death.”
The Ontario Court of Appeal didn’t even need to hear from the Crown before dismissing Schlatter’s appeal earlier this year.
Now with his long-shot application to the Supreme Court rejected, Schlatter is left to serve out his life sentence with just over 18 years still remaining before he can even apply for parole.
“I’ll be long gone by then,” said Hermeston, 67.
If he is released then, she’s hoping her family will have won their lawsuit and the 46-year-old will have no assets to enjoy.
Their suffering will never end. Why should his?