A U.S. citizen is facing charges in connection with the death of an Edmonton man and is linked to the disappearance of a Vancouver man in a bizarre case spanning from Washington state to B.C. to Alberta and back again.
U.S. court documents show 41-year-old Jason Steadman has been on the run since July 2012 when he failed to show for a meeting with his Seattle probation officer.
Months later Steadman turned up in Vancouver where he obtained photo ID from ICBC in the name of 23-year-old Robert Aubrey-Maxwell.
Aubrey-Maxwell vanished from downtown Vancouver in late August 2012. Steadman then went to Alberta where he continued to live as the missing Aubrey-Maxwell.
Two-and-a-half-years later Steadman allegedly attacked and killed Edmonton limo driver Dwayne Demkiw with a machete.
READ MORE: Edmonton police say Dwayne Demkiw was murdered, identify American man as suspect
Demkiw was the ex-boyfriend of a woman Steadman had dated.
Last October Steadman was charged with first-degree murder in Demkiw’s death.
A month later he turned himself in to U.S. marshals in Seattle where he has been in custody ever since. Now Edmonton Police want Steadman back and are trying to have him extradited to Canada.
Police allege Steadman used Aubrey-Maxwell’s non-photo ID to obtain photo ID saying he was Aubrey-Maxwell and actually born in Vancouver. Police allege Steadman then came to Alberta in November 2012 where he obtained an Alberta driver’s licence and Canadian passport in Aubrey-Maxwell’s name. The court documents do not mention what happened to the person police refer to as “the true Aubrey-Maxwell.”
When contacted by Global News, the Vancouver Police Department said Robert Aubrey-Maxwell “was last seen in August of 2012 and reported missing to the Vancouver Police in February of the following year. The VPD continues to investigate the circumstances involved in the case of this missing person.”
Demkiw’s family told Global News they believe that justice will one day be served.
WATCH: U.S. citizen linked to disappearance of B.C. man
– With files from Kristen Robinson and Phil Heidenreich
Comments