National Post (National Edition)
Call-girl in overdose death to be deported
She stepped over Google exec’s body for a drink
BACK TO CANADA
A California immigration judge has ordered that Alix Tichelman, the high-end call girl convicted of injecting a Google executive with a fatal dose of heroin, be deported to her native Canada, capping a tawdry case that made headlines around the world.
“On April 6, an immigration judge held that Ms. Tichelman’s criminal convictions were grounds for removal and ordered her removed from the United States,” James Schwab, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement Friday.
“Ms. Tichelman will remain in ICE custody pending final arrangements for her removal.”
Tichelman, 29, pleaded guilty two years ago to involuntary manslaughter and administering drugs to Forrest Hayes, 51, who was found dead on his luxury yacht in a Santa Cruz harbour in November 2013.
Video surveillance showed that Hayes had lost consciousness after Tichelman injected him with heroin.
But instead of calling for help, Tichelman wiped away evidence, gathered her belongings and stepped over Hayes’ body multiple times, including once to finish a glass of wine, police said.
Hayes, the father of five, reportedly hired Tichelman after seeing her profile on a dating website called SeekingArrangement.com. Headlines dubbed her the “Harbor Hooker” and “Call Girl Killer.”
After serving about half her sentence, Tichelman was released on March 29 by the Santa Cruz County Jail for good behaviour, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. But she was immediately taken back into custody — this time, by federal immigration officers.
A source confirmed that Tichelman does not intend to challenge the judge’s deportation order. It was not immediately clear how soon she would be back in Canada.
Media reports have said Tichelman spent part of her childhood in southwest B.C., and that she had attended the Southridge private school in Surrey.
Tichelman’s father, Bart Tichelman, who grew up in Vancouver and attended UBC, has worked as an executive at several tech companies around North America.
The family moved to Georgia many years ago and Tichelman briefly attended Georgia State University in 2008, the Atlanta JournalConstitution reported.
Tichelman’s ex-boyfriend, music club owner Dean Riopelle, 53, also died of a heroin overdose in September 2013.
Though Riopelle’s death was initially classified as accidental, police and prosecutors told local reporters this week the case is still being actively investigated.