Flesh In The Pipes: The Savage Case of Adam Strong

“‘We’ve pulled about 10 or 15 pounds of flesh from the pipe. It’s human.” – plumber

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "stupid" as "the tendency to make poor decisions or careless mistakes." If there were a picture to illustrate stupidity, it might feature Adam Strong, a 47-year-old killer who believed that stuffing the severed limbs of his victims down his bathtub drain was a good idea. It wasn't.

The Murders of Rori Hache and Kandis Fitzpatrick

In September 2017, the torso of 18-year-old Rori Hache was found floating in the Oshawa Harbour in Ontario, Canada. Hache, who was pregnant at the time, had gone missing in late August after struggling with drug addiction.

A few months later, in late December 2017, plumbers called to fix a backed-up drain at a home on McMillan Drive in Oshawa made a grisly discovery - they pulled out what appeared to be human flesh and hair from the pipes. Police were called and confronted the basement tenant, 47-year-old Adam Strong. Strong nonchalantly admitted "It's a body...if you want to recover the rest of her, it's in my freezer."

“this guy doesn’t give up. He was really annoying us at that point. He was hovering quite a bit. He started saying something as we started recovering stuff.” – Jeremiah Wildeboer, plumber

Inside Strong's freezer, police found the dismembered remains of Rori Hache. Her blood was splattered on the walls and ceiling of Strong's bedroom. An autopsy showed Hache had been beaten to death, suffering blunt force trauma and skull fractures. Strong's semen was also found on her body, indicating sexual assault.

But the horror didn't end there. DNA testing revealed a second victim - 19-year-old Kandis Fitzpatrick, who had gone missing in 2008. Her blood and DNA were found on a hunting knife and in Strong's freezer. While her body was never recovered, police believed Strong had killed and dismembered Fitzpatrick years earlier in a similar manner to Hache.

The Trial and Verdict

At his judge-alone trial in 2021, Strong admitted to dismembering the two women but denied murdering them. However, the judge found overwhelming evidence of Strong's guilt.

For Hache, Justice Joseph Di Luca ruled it was first-degree murder, saying Strong had sexually assaulted and beaten her to death, likely with a hammer or similar object while she was restrained. The judge described a "blood-letting event" with bondage devices found covered in Hache's blood.

For Fitzpatrick, there was insufficient evidence to prove intent for murder, so Strong was convicted of the lesser offense of manslaughter. But Di Luca stated he was satisfied Strong had unlawfully caused Fitzpatrick's death in a likely similar scenario years earlier.

The Aftermath

At his sentencing in May 2021, a defiant Strong refused to explain his monstrous acts as families of the victims lamented the bright futures stolen from Hache and Fitzpatrick.

Strong received the mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years for Hache's first-degree murder. He got a concurrent 18 years for Fitzpatrick's manslaughter.

The judge condemned Strong as "a dangerous predator" who preyed on vulnerable women, fueled by "selfish desires." He told Strong: "You will never be seen in public again. In time you will be forgotten...You will simply be gone."

In 2022, Strong finally led police to the remains of Kandis Fitzpatrick, which he had buried near his home 14 years earlier, bringing some closure to her family after their long search.

The Adam Strong case was one of unspeakable depravity - the calculated killings, dismemberment and disposal of two young women's bodies by a sexual sadist. His unrepentant attitude only compounded the tragedy. While justice was served, the victims' families are left grappling with horrific loss and haunting questions that may never be answered.

Citations:
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/adam-strong-guilty-verdict-1.5951327
[2] https://globalnews.ca/news/7696897/oshawa-murder-trial-rori-hache-kandis-fitzpatrick/
[3] https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/how-a-convicted-killer-led-police-to-his-victim-s-remains-14-years-after-her-murder-1.5783328
[4] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/remains-of-kandis-fitzpatrick-found-14-years-after-she-went-missing-1.6353740
[5] https://www.durhamregion.com/news/a-chance-encounter-with-a-monster-murder-manslaughter-convictions-for-oshawas-adam-strong/article_1414dd17-8fe2-5418-b525-13cc407ddfd7.html
[6] https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/you-sir-have-brought-darkness-to-everyone-rori-hache-s-father-says-to-daughter-s-killer-at-sentencing-hearing-1.5444674
[7] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/adam-strong-sentenced-to-life-1.6044616
[8] https://www.cp24.com/news/you-will-never-be-seen-in-public-again-judge-tells-oshawa-man-who-killed-dismembered-2-women-1.5446527