Man accused in gay village death had charge upgraded

A man accused of killing a young woman in Toronto’s gay village had his charge upgraded to first-degree murder after police found new evidence in the case, an investigator said Thursday after the 21-year-old appeared in court.

Kalen Schlatter is charged in the November 2017 murder of 22-year-old Tess Richey who, according to police, died of “neck compression.”

Schlatter was initially charged with second-degree murder last month but the charge was elevated to first-degree murder Wednesday.

“I’m not going to get into what the new evidence is (but) I’m going to tell you that new evidence presented itself to us,” Det. Ted Lioumanis told reporters following a brief court appearance at which Schlatter’s case was put over until April 23 “I want to acknowledge the community for that. I want to thank them for that for coming forward.”

There are a handful of conditions under Canada’s Criminal Code that can result in a charge of first-degree murder. “Planned and deliberate” homicides and killings that occur while committing or attempting a sexual assault or kidnapping are among the crimes that qualify.

Police believe Schlatter and Richey did not know each other before the night of her death, Lioumanis said outside court, adding that Schlatter has not yet provided investigators with a statement.