Regulatory agency clears police of criminal charges in connection with death in Lumby, BC

SURREY, BC — British Columbia's Police Oversight Board has closed its investigation into the April death of a woman in Lumby, BC, saying it found no evidence of criminality in officers' handling of the case.

Tatjana Stefanski's body was discovered on April 14 after she was reportedly abducted from her home the day before. Her partner said the couple had received serious threats that had been reported to police four months before her disappearance and death.

The Independent Investigations Office of BC said in a statement released this week that its interim civilian chief director had completed the investigation into the case and “found no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed an offence.”

The regulator launched a review of the case in May, scrutinising the police's handling of the case and the alleged threats against Stefanski.

The RCMP said the woman's ex-husband, Vitali Stefanski, was charged with first-degree murder in May and the trial is ongoing.

When the Independent Investigations Office (UNO) began its investigation into the case in May, it said it hoped to find out “what role, if any, police actions or inaction may have played in the death.”

The monitoring group says it will not release a public report on its findings until the criminal proceedings in Stefanski's case have been concluded.

The victim's name was not mentioned in the decision.

Jason Gaudreault, Tatjana Stefanski's partner, declined to comment on the IIO's decision.

In an earlier interview, he had said that Stefanski's father, who lives in Germany, had been contacted by someone who threatened to “chop the woman into pieces” and “send her back in a body bag.”

In a Facebook post following the IIO decision, Gaudreault said he was “completely baffled” and that “everything could have been prevented.”

“Nothing was done for us in December and I feel like nothing is being done for us now,” Gaudreault wrote in the post. “I can understand that the RCMP is not criminally responsible, but what about politics or reporting of crime?”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press