Warning: This story contains graphic content and might be upsetting to some readers.

Kalen Schlatter said he “lost control” and fatally choked Tess Richey with a scarf after she refused to have sex with him, a man who shared a jail cell with the accused Toronto killer testified Tuesday.

The identity of the 48-year-old witness — who began his testimony by telling the jury “I’m a criminal, I steal s---”, admitted to routinely lying to police and breaching court orders, and openly acknowledged his “huge criminal record” of commercial robberies, dangerous driving and bail violations dating back to 1992 — is under a publication ban. He can only be identified as E.S.

“I don’t need you to discredit me,” he told defence lawyer Lydia Riva as he became increasingly annoyed during a cross-examination in which she sought to highlight his history of dishonesty and drug use.

“I can discredit myself.”

Testifying at Schlatter’s ongoing first-degree murder trial in downtown Toronto, the man said that while sharing a cell in protective custody at the Toronto South Detention Centre, Schlatter told him he went into an alley with Richey to have sex with her.

But while they were making out in a stairwell, she said she told him to “stop, stop, stop, stop,” because she was on her period.

Schlatter wanted to keep going because “he was too worked up,” E.S. testified.

“He just lost control and he was choking her and he tied a scarf around her neck, she was on the ground. It excited him. He was past the point of no control. He ejaculated on her. Afterwards, when he pulled the scarf off, she was dead.”

E.S. said Schlatter told him he took money from her purse and a chain, then took an Uber part of the way home to avoid being linked from the scene to his home.

E.S. also said Schlatter told him he was high on MDMA and edibles at the time he killed Richey, and had been drinking.

Schlatter, now 23, has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of the 22-year-old aspiring flight attendant. The Crown has shown video of Schlatter and Richey walking into an alley between two houses on Church Street, north of Dundonald Street, at 4:14 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2017.

Video shows Schlatter leaving the alley alone at 5 a.m. Schlatter’s semen was found on Richey’s pants and his saliva on her bra, the jury has heard, and a pathologist determined she had been strangled, possibly with a scarf or soft piece of clothing.

Schlatter’s defence lawyers have suggested that another person could have killed Richey after Schlatter left.

This not the first time E.S. has given evidence about a confession to murder by a fellow inmate. The jury heard that he previously testified once before in a preliminary hearing, after he went to the police with information from someone he was in custody with. After he testified in that case, he pleaded guilty to outstanding charges and received a more lenient sentence.

However, E.S. said he had received no consideration or deal for his testimony against Schlatter — despite asking once for help with some charges — and understands that the Crown has said he will not receive any consideration for it in the future.

The defence has suggested he could still benefit if his lawyer were to mention it to a judge, who could then consider it regardless of the Crown’s position.

“Nobody has given me nothing. I am here to help this family and the dead girl, that’s it,” he said. He said it is both difficult and dangerous for him to be testifying in this trial and “people can believe what they want, I don’t give a s---.”

He said that after Schlatter told him what he’d done, he let it “stew” in his mind before first reaching out to police in April 2018. It was 11 months before the lead detective contacted him and he gave a full statement.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“I’m a criminal. I don’t like being a rat,” he said. “What changed for me — I understand, certain people, sometimes people need to kill but you don’t kill women and you don’t kill children for no reason at all, especially. And someone who cried himself to sleep every night because they are going to do time and miss their family and mommy but not one time, that whole time we were together, have they any concern or remorse for a dead girl you just met.”

E.S. testified that after a conversation with his lawyer, Schlatter became concerned he was a cop — a suggestion that “no offence,” he said, offended him.

He said Schlatter had learned he’d shared cells previously with two undercover officers.

“I hope to God you are not a cop. If you are, I’m f---ed,” he said Schlatter told him.

He also said Schlatter was frustrated because police had told him there was security video of him walking into the alley with Richey and leaving alone. Schlatter said he didn’t need to see the video and had admitted it was him, but his lawyer later showed him some still images from the video and he realized it just showed two blurry people, E.S. testified.

He also testified that he and Schlatter brainstormed alibi ideas for him. One was that he could say Richey died by suicide. Another was that someone else came by, robbed her and killed her.

Under cross-examination, Riva, Schlatter’s defence lawyer, suggested E.S. gave similar testimony in the previous case he was involved with — in both instances he described the accused as “not bright” and said they discussed alibis.

He denied making up his testimony and denied that the details could have come from the information Schlatter was already aware of through his interview with homicide detectives and disclosure of evidence.

Riva also challenged his concern for women, noting that he had a previous conviction for a domestic assault where the facts included him choking and slapping his domestic partner.

“The difference between me and your client is that she’ll be here tomorrow and you can ask her yourself,” he shot back.

E.S. said he denied that the assault occurred that way and said he pleaded guilty in order to get out jail in 10 days rather than a few months.

Riva suggested he would say anything to get out of jail sooner.

When it comes to pleading guilty absolutely, E.S. said. But he maintained he was telling the truth about what Schlatter told him.

Cross-examination is expected to continue Wednesday.