Jason Steadman, who is charged in the murder of Edmonton man Dwayne Demkiw, was extradited to Canada on Thursday.
US Federal Marshalls turned the accused over to Edmonton Police Service Homicide detectives at the Douglas border crossing in B.C. where he was subsequently arrested on Canada-wide warrants for first-degree murder as well as charges of arson.
Court documents allege that on the evening of May 30, 2015, Demkiw went to a birthday party at a downtown Edmonton restaurant called The Oil Lamp before leaving around 9 p.m. for his job as a limousine driver. Demkiw had arranged to meet up with friends from the party once his shift finished at 3 a.m. Police said driver logs show Demkiw returned to Revolution Entertainment at 3 a.m. before leaving work at 4 a.m.
Later that morning, at around 11 a.m., firefighters were called to a parking lot in southeast Calgary where a car’s trunk was on fire. The vehicle was still running and didn’t have a licence plate. A witness told police they saw someone leave the scene looking at the burning car and with a licence plate in hand and took video of the person, the court documents reveal. An investigation concluded the man seen with the plate was not Demkiw although the vehicle belonged to him.
His vehicle was found later in the day in southwest Calgary. On April 5, 2016, his remains were found in a wooden area near Innisfail.
READ MORE: Edmonton police say Dwayne Demkiw was murdered, identify American man as suspect
Court documents reveal that Demkiw’s former common-law wife, Angel Chalifoux, was showed a picture of Steadman and she identified him as Robert Aubrey-Maxwell, her recent ex-boyfriend. She told officers Aubrey-Maxwell had expressed he wasn’t happy that she continued to be friends with Demkiw and blamed their friendship for the fact that his relationship with Chalifoux didn’t last.
Police allege Steadman used Audrey-Maxwell’s non-photo ID to obtain photo ID saying that he was Aubrey-Maxwell and was born in Vancouver. Police allege Steadman then came to Alberta in November 2012 where he obtained an Alberta’s driver’s licence and Canadian passport in Aubrey-Maxwell’s name.
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.”
READ MORE: U.S. man, wanted for murder in Alberta, linked to disappearance of B.C. man
According to his brother Darren, Dwayne is remembered as being an avid scuba diver, and worked two jobs to pay for his hobby. He’s described as always being there for his friends and “living in the moment.”
Alberta’s Attorney General submitted an extradition request in June 2016 for 41-year-old Steadman in order to face a charge of first-degree murder in Alberta in connection with Demkiw’s death.
Steadman will be appearing in a Vancouver court room Friday, Sept. 23, 2016.
With files from Shallima Maharaj and Phil Heidenreich, Global News
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