Kalen Schlatter, 21, charged with second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Tess Richey, made a brief video appearance on Thursday in a courtroom filled with Richey’s friends and family.

Police have received very little information about Schlatter so far, Det. Ted Lioumanis told the Star at College Park court, and Schlatter’s family has not been involved in the case – though police knew he lived with them in Toronto prior to his arrest, and worked with his father.

“We need to find out more about who he really is,” Lioumanis said of the 21-year-old accused. “We’re still working on that. It’s still early.” He’s optimistic that “people will step forward” as the case progresses.

Schlatter was charged on Feb. 5 with the second-degree murder of Richey, who died of neck compression in an alley at Church and Wellesley in the early hours of Nov. 25 2017. Police allege that Schlatter was alone with Richey for some time before her death, but have not elaborated on the time span or nature of that time period.

Richey’s mother – who arrived at court on Thursday in dark sunglasses, flanked by her daughters, who held her hand throughout the morning – was the one to find her daughter in the alleyway days after she disappeared.

As the family entered the court, they were ushered in by both lead detectives on the case. Lioumanis and Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson sat in the third row behind Richey’s friends and family, and escorted the group out at the end.

“If they ask us to come, we’ll come,” Gibson said, saying police would do what was necessary to make the family more comfortable. But the other lead detective, Lioumanis, told the Star police investigators also have a job to do that’s entirely separate from their work with the family.

“I can understand what they’re going through, but from an investigator standpoint we need to separate the connection between us and the family,” he said. “We need to focus on the case itself.”

Richey’s disappearance was not initially considered suspicious by police. Her case is subject to an investigation by the Toronto police professional standards unit into potential misconduct.

“My job is the investigation of the homicide,” Lioumanis said when asked about the status of that investigation. “The peripheral, that’s being investigated right now by our internal affairs – our professional standards.”

Building a relationship of trust with the family after the way the homicide investigation began was “a bit of a process,” he said. “We’ve had many meetings with the family over time, one on one with mom and the sisters. They understand where we’re coming from and we understand what they went through too, and what they’re going through currently.”

After the appearance, the group chatted in the hallway of the courthouse briefly. A family member asked one of Tess’ friends if it was what she was expecting. The friend, who had tears streaming down her face during and after Schlatter’s appearance, wordlessly shook her head.

Police have told the family that they don’t need to come down from their home North Bay for every appearance. Lioumanis said he was concerned about the extra anxiety and stress it was going to cause them. But on Thursday, the group sat two rows deep in the courtroom while new dates were sorted out for Schlatter to appear.

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“We probably won’t hit trial on this for at least a couple years,” Lioumanis said when asked about the process ahead. Police will likely appeal to the public soon for more information.

“If anyone recognized Schlatter that night in the area, in the club, Crews and Tango, or within the village – the Church and Wellesley area – and if anyone knows about who he is really, call us.”