It took 10 minutes for a panel of Ontario Court of Appeal judges to deny the appeal of convicted first-degree murderer Kalen Schlatter in a Toronto court this week.
Schlatter was convicted of the first-degree murder of 22-year-old Tess Richey in March 2020. The Crown successfully argued Schlatter sexually assaulted Richey in November 2017 and then killed her in the stairwell of a building under construction in Toronto's Village.
See related: Kalen Schlatter found guilty by jury of killing Tess Richey
The Richey family has deep ties to North Bay and tells BayToday that following the appeal was an overwhelming process but garnered a welcome result.
It was Tess Richey's own mother who found her body days after she was reported missing. The Richey case has brought about some reforms in how police approach missing person cases. Toronto Police Service misconduct hearings related to the Richey case are expected to take place soon.
See also: Richey family files lawsuit to 'honour Tess' and protect potential victims
The family filed a $20-million lawsuit after Schlatter's conviction in 2020 to "hold others accountable for actions that contributed to her death, and to help prevent similar incidents in the future," according to Richey's mother, Christine Hermeston.
The panel will give its reasoning for upholding Schlatter's sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years at a later date. The Toronto man, 23 at the time of his trial, filed the notice of his appeal shortly after his 2020 conviction.
