Charges withdrawn against Toronto cops accused of failing to properly investigate murdered woman's disappearance

Nearly seven years after the family of Tess Richey found her remains in a stairwell in Toronto, professional misconduct charges against two of the police officers initially tasked with investigating her disappearance have been withdrawn.

At a police tribunal hearing on Monday, prosecutor Mattison Chinneck said the charges laid against Toronto police constables Alan McCullough and Michael Jones had been dropped in favour of a “restorative approach.”

Richey, 22, was reported missing after a night out in downtown Toronto in 2017. Her remains were found in the Church and Wellesley area four days later.

In 2018, McCullough and Jones were charged under the Police Services Act after investigators alleged they had failed to thoroughly search for Richey when called to the location where her remains would eventually be found.

At Monday’s hearing, Chinneck said that the two constables had accepted responsibility for the situation, but underlined there had been no finding of professional misconduct. Instead, he told the tribunal that the investigation unfolded as such due to "systemic failures" in the way Toronto police handled of missing persons cases back in 2017.

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Richey's body was found in a stairwell in the area of Church and Dundonald streets on Nov. 29, 2017.

Three days before the 22-year-old’s remains were discovered, tribunal documents state that McCullough and Jones had responded to a call for a missing person at a location just 40 metres away.

The officers never found Richey, however – her body was discovered days later by her mother, who had travelled from North Bay, Ont. to search for her missing daughter.

Tess Richey, 22 at the time of her death, was found dead in a stairwell in Toronto in 2017. On Monday, two police officers initially tasked with investigating her disappearance were cleared of misconduct charges.

The Notice of Hearing issued when McCullough and Jones were first charged alleged they had not properly investigated the area after they'd been called there days earlier.

"You did not search the adjoining property or immediate area thoroughly," it reads. “You did not conduct a canvass of neighbours. You failed to notify a supervisory officer of all of the particulars."

At Monday’s hearing, Lawrence Gridin, counsel for McCullough, chalked the incident up to “systemic failures” in the way that missing persons cases used to be handled.

"The Toronto Police Service has made enormous improvements to their processes and training since then to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again," Gridin said, referencing a recent review into the service’s missing persons investigations.

The review, published in 2021 by former judge Gloria Epstein, found "serious flaws" and "systemic discrimination" in a number of missing persons investigation by the Toronto police.

Joanne Mulcahy, counsel for Jones, said the case served as a significant learning experience for the constable.

"There is not a day that goes by that he does not think of Tess Richey or the family," Mulcahy said.

As part of the resolution, the two officers will undergo further training in missing persons investigations, including speaking to new recruits about the Richey case and lessons learned from the investigation.

"They do so in the spirit of better preparing the officers of the future and of the organization as a whole," the prosecutor told the tribunal.

The two officers will also forfeit 40 hours of pay, the tribunal heard. 

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Tess Richey's sister Rachel Richey said her family is happy with the tribunal's results.

“We are happy with today’s results where the officers are accepting responsibility for their shortcomings in the search for Tess. Through alternative measures instead of a tribunal, the charges can be withdrawn and we avoid further legal proceedings which provides us with some relief," she said.

"We are happy to know their experience in this case will provide nuance and understanding in the training of officers in future missing person cases.”

The family’s lawyer Mike Smitiuch told CTV News Toronto on Monday that the family's fight for justice is not over and the "fight for accountability" continues. 

“There is a lot of mixed emotions given what happen today. I can tell you that nothing at the outset can make up for the loss the Ritchey family suffered,” he said.

“I think part of the family is happy that this has been resolved and that the officers have accepted responsibility to an extent. On the other hand, the view is that restorative justice can’t restore anything. One of the officers didn’t even show up today.”