Jason Gaudreault, whose partner Tatjana Stefanski was found dead on April 14 after disappearing a day earlier, shows a photograph of her on his phone, in Lumby, B.C., on May 13.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Police in British Columbia have announced a murder charge against the ex-husband of Tatjana Stefanski, more than six weeks after she was reportedly abducted from her home in the village of Lumby and was later found dead.
RCMP said Vitali Stefanski was charged with her second-degree murder on Friday and was in custody, pending a court appearance.
Police said Tatjana Stefanski, 44, was reported to have been taken from her home on April 13, and her body was found in a rural area the next day.
They said in a statement that a man believed to be involved in her death was found in the vicinity of the body but was released with conditions while police continued investigating.
The release prompted weeks of concern in Lumby, an Interior community of about 2,000 people in the North Okanagan, with Tatjana Stefanski’s partner and two children going into hiding in fear for their safety.
“Although this investigation to date has had its many challenges, the recent charges brought against Mr. Stefanski are the result of the tireless investigative work,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Smart of the RCMP Major Crime Unit.
Handling of the case has come under scrutiny, with the B.C. police watchdog investigating how the RCMP dealt with alleged threats against Tatjana Stefanski four months before she disappeared.
Her partner, Jason Gaudreault, said previously that the couple went to police last December about “extreme” threats sent to Stefanski’s father in Germany, threatening to “chop her up” and “send her back in a body bag.”
The Independent Investigations Office said last week it was examining “what if any role police action or inaction may have played in the woman’s death.”