A Toronto man who sexually assaulted and strangled a young woman hours after they met has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Kalen Schlatter was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the killing of 22-year-old Tess Richey.

The conviction carries an automatic sentence, which was handed down today in a Toronto courtroom.

During the hearing, relatives and friends of Richey also voiced their grief at losing their loved one, whom they described as fierce, generous and kind.

A woman with black hair looks at the camera.

Tess Richey, 22, went missing on Nov. 25 after a night out with a high school friend. Her mother found her body four days later. 

Tess Richey 

Court heard Schlatter and Richey met after leaving the same club in the early hours of Nov. 25, 2017.

Richey's body was found days later, by her mother and a family friend, at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell.

Jury never heard about Kalen Schlatter's affinity for violent porn, choking during sex

The jury at Kalen Schlatter's first-degree murder trial in the death of Toronto woman Tess Richey never heard about his "obsessive" interest in violent pornography that featured non-consensual sex and images of choking.

Security camera footage of Schlatter and Richey

Photo of 21-year-old accused Kalen Schlatter, who met Richey the night she went missing, according to Det-Sgt. Graham Gibson.

Kalen Schlatter 

Kalen Schlatter's first-degree murder trial has been going on for several weeks. It is one of the only criminal trials still ongoing in Ontario amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Convicted killer Kalen Schlatter was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years on Wednesday.

Kalen Schlatter handed life sentence with no parole for 25 years for Tess Richey murder

More Stories Like This