TORONTO -- Graphic content warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
The Oshawa, Ont. man accused of killing and dismembering two teenage girls wanted police to send one of the victim's family his condolences, a court heard on Tuesday.
In an interview with a detective after he was charged with the first-degree murders of Rori Hache and Kanis Fitzpatrick, Adam Strong said that he wanted to pass on his condolences to the mother and father of one of his victims.
"I'd like to pass on to (Hache’s) mother and father my condolences. I don't know if it is appropriate. I do mean it, I'm that kind of guy,” he can be heard saying in the interview that was played in court during his trial on Tuesday.
The torso of the 18-year-old was found in the Oshawa Harbour by a fisherman in September 2017. Hache, who had been reported missing, had been dismembered.
"I'm worried about her mother," Strong told the officer during the interview. "I couldn't even imagine how that affects someone."
Durham police had no suspects in Hache’s murder until December of that year when they were called to an Oshawa home by plumbers who allegedly found human flesh plugging up the pipes.
The court has previously heard that when police knocked on Strong’s door, he answered by saying, "Okay, you got me, the gig's up, it’s a body."
In the police interview, Strong is heard telling the officer that he was “going to spill the beans on everything." The detective tells Strong that they did not have a suspect before arriving at his home.
“You were under the radar," Det. Paul Mitton is heard saying.
“You kidding? I crashed into the radar, " Strong said.
It was only when investigators found the DNA of 19-year-old Fitzpatrick in the house that they realized there had been another murder.
Fitzpatrick had been missing since 2008 and her body was never found.
Strong, 47, has pleaded not guilty to both first-degree murder charges.
In the police interview, the detective is heard trying to get Strong to answer questions about how the two women were killed. But Strong appears to be holding back on information, saying he hopes to exchange it for better prison conditions.
"You need to hold back to get what you want. I want Internet access, be comfortable for how many years I have left, not someone stabbing me in the neck."
The detectives spent hours trying to get information but Strong only provides them with the obvious, that Hache's tissue was found in his freezer.
"I don't expect a get out of jail free card, I just want to be comfortable, but if I let those cards out here, I won't have them later."
