The man facing murder charges related to the deaths of two Oshawa women is now one step closer to trial.
Adam Strong appeared in an Oshawa courtroom from jail via video feed on Tuesday, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit as a pre-trial date of Feb. 28 was set regarding the cases of Rori Hache and Kandis Fitzpatrick.
Tuesday’s in-court appearance marks his second since Durham police charged 46-year-old Strong with the murder of the two women.
Investigators initially charged Strong with improper/indecent interference with a dead body last December after they found Hache’s remains in his Oshawa basement apartment, but the Crown dropped this charge in November after police charged him with first-degree murder.
Hache’s mother, Shanan Dionne, had been hoping for police to charge Strong with murder ever since he was first accused in her daughter’s death.
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She said at the courthouse Tuesday: “I’m leaving here feeling better than I have on most appearances because it’s happening. I believe there’s enough to convict.”
“We all get the idea that it’s bad,” she continued.
Three months before officers discovered the teen’s remains in his home, a fisherman discovered her torso at the Oshawa lakefront.
Fitzpatrick, who is also from Oshawa, has been missing for a decade and would have turned 29 years old this year. Police say they consider her Durham Region’s 10th homicide victim of 2018.
Strong’s judicial pre-trial will be a meeting involving his lawyer, Tom Balka, as well as the Crown to sort out any legal and procedural issues before the trial officially begins.
They are urging anyone with information about Hache or Fitzpatrick’s cases to call the Major Crimes — Homicide Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5407/5325.
Anyone who would like to send information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca. Tipsters may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward.
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