A tip from an Ontario man convicted of killing a woman who went missing more than a decade ago led investigators to the discovery of her remains late last year, police said Wednesday.
Kandis Fitzpatrick, who was 19 at the time, was last seen in 2008. Adam Strong was convicted last year of manslaughter in her death but Fitzpatrick's body had not been found.
Durham Regional Police said the force received information in July from Strong, who is in prison, related to the location of Fitzpatrick's remains.
Det.-Sgt. Doris Carriere said the discovery will not lead to new charges against Strong but will hopefully help Fitzpatrick's loved ones.
"This discovery and the details of our interviews will not change the outcome of these tragic events or the trauma endured by the victim's family and friends," Carriere said at a news conference Wednesday.
"Our goal in this recovery was to be able to provide some closure to Kandis' family and all those were affected by the crime."
Strong was also convicted of first-degree murder in the death and dismemberment of Rori Hache.
Hache's torso was found in Lake Ontario about a month after she vanished in August 2017. Police did not link her death to Strong until later that year, after they found her remains in his Oshawa, Ont., home.
Court heard that Fitzpatrick's DNA was also found in Strong's home in 2018, including on a hunting knife, but her body had not been found.
Following the tip from Strong last July, Carriere said Durham police conducted a series of interviews and obtained additional authorization to pursue a search for Fitzpatrick's remains.
The remains were found and recovered in November, and police confirmed Wednesday that they are Fitzpatrick's.
During Strong's sentencing hearing, Fitzpatrick's father told court in a victim impact statement that he scoured the streets of Oshawa and other cities after his daughter vanished.
Bill Fitzpatrick said he was devastated when police told him nearly 10 years later they found her DNA in Strong's home and believed she was dead.
"After all the years of searching, this was not the outcome I expected. I was shattered by the news,'' he told court at the time.
Strong received a life sentence last May for his first-degree murder conviction in the killing of Hache and 18 years in prison, to be served concurrently, for his manslaughter conviction in the death of Kandis Fitzpatrick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
