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Police find DNA of second missing woman at Ontario home where remains were found

Jul 10, 2018 | 2:15 AM

OSHAWA, Ont. — The mother of a pregnant teen whose remains were found in a basement apartment east of Toronto said she is frustrated no murder charges have been laid in her daughter’s death, as officers announced Tuesday they had found the DNA of a second woman in the same home.

Police believe DNA recovered from the Oshawa, Ont., apartment belongs to Kandis Fitzpatrick, last seen by her family in 2008 when she was 18 years old, detectives said at a news conference.

They would not comment on the nature of the DNA, but said tests comparing it to samples taken from Fitzpatrick’s parents determined it belongs either to Fitzpatrick or her one of her two sisters.

“Based on the information they have provided to us, their age at the time when Kandis was reported missing and the fact of Kandis not having been seen since 2008, we strongly believe that the DNA located is that of Kanids Fitzpatrick,” Det. Darren Short said.

There is no indication that Fitzpatrick, whose family reported her missing in 2010, was connected to Rori Hache, whose remains were found in the apartment late last year, Strong said.

Hache was last seen on security video at a local hospital on Aug. 29, 2017, detectives said.

A fisherman found her torso in Lake Ontario in September. In December, people doing work on the Oshawa house called police after finding something suspicious, Short said.

Police have charged Adam Strong, who moved into the basement apartment in 2007, with indecent interference to a body in connection with Hache’s remains. Strong remains in custody and is scheduled to return to court Aug. 27.

Investigators have said they are treating Hache’s death as a homicide, though no murder charges have been laid in her death so far.

“I’ve spoken with (Hache’s) family… and I’ve made it abundantly clear through all the conversations that we need the evidence to lay the charge, and this will take time,” Short said Tuesday.

“By going through the exhibits and the evidence we’ve collected, the results of that will dictate the further laying of charges.”

Hache’s mother said waiting has been difficult. “It’s the worst feeling in the world because you almost feel like Rori is being minimized,” Shanan Dionne said after the news conference.

“But I believe in (the) detectives, that they are taking their time for a reason … I’m glad I’m not putting negative pressure on the police force, I’m glad I’m not getting in their heads and taking time away from the investigation.”

Several of Hache’s loved ones attended the news conference, wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Justice 4 Rori,” and the letters G.B.N.F., for “Gone But Not Forgotten.”

On Tuesday afternoon, police cars and forensic services trucks were parked outside the home where the remains and DNA were found.

Police say tenants still live on the upper floors of the home, which sits across the street from a large parking garage, in a mostly commercial section of central Oshawa.

Officers are combing the property with “major concentration” on the backyard, Strong told reporters, adding that while some digging was done in January, frozen ground made it impossible to do a complete search.

Since finding the DNA, police have reviewed all 43 outstanding missing persons cases in Durham Region, dating back to 1963, Det. Sgt. Mitch Martin said.

There are only two that “even fall close to the parameters” of this case — one a girl reported missing in 1963 and the other from 1996.

Police said they would re-examine the 1996 cases, but so far see nothing to suggest it’s connected to either Hache or Fitzpatrick. 

— with files by Nicole Thompson in Toronto.

Peter Goffin, The Canadian Press