The body of a woman discovered in an Oshawa apartment along with a suspicious package in late December is that of 18-year-old missing Rori Hache, Durham Regional Police say.
On Sept. 11, a fisherman discovered the torso of a woman in Lake Ontario near the Oshawa Harbour with obvious signs of trauma. Police identified it as Hache’s. She had been missing since Aug. 29.
On Dec. 30, police were called to a basement apartment on McMillan Drive around 7:30 p.m., where officers found a female’s body inside the home, as well as a suspicious package.
READ MORE: ‘I feel like I’m in a nightmare’: Family heartbroken after missing Oshawa teen confirmed dead
The explosive disposal unit was called in to detonate the package.
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Adam Jeffrey Strong, 45, of Oshawa was arrested and charged with improper/indecent interference with a dead body.
Strong remains in custody. He is scheduled to make a court appearance Jan. 10. There is no word on whether he will face additional charges.
Police have not said if the victim and the accused were previously known to each other.
Meanwhile, friends and family of Hache described her as “beautiful,” “bright” and “welcoming” to Global News in September. Family members said they had last spoken with her in August and that they were concerned for her safety.
Krysia Meeldyk, Hache’s godmother, told Global News she had spoken to her on the phone on Aug. 27 and everything seemed fine at that point.
But then, Meeldyk realized something was wrong when someone from The Refuge, a youth outreach program where Hache was an active participant, contacted her and told her he had not seen the teen for a few weeks, which was unusual for her as the centre was her “go-to.”
A GoFundMe page was set up by Meeldyk to raise funds to create a bench in Hache’s honour at Oshawa Beach.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
—With files from Catherine McDonald and The Canadian Press