[2] With no job offers from the airlines or hotel, she began studying Italian and seeking an au pair position in Italy, still wishing to travel.
[2] Richey spent the afternoon of Friday 24 November 2017 at her sister Rachel's house in midtown Toronto, sharing a meal, games, and conversation.
[5] Richey left the house around 11:30 pm and went to the nearby Church Street strip for a night out with a high school friend from North Bay who she had not seen in two and a half years.
Richey's friend received a text at 4 am from her boyfriend requesting that she return home and walked to the College Street streetcar.
[3] On 27 November, Richey's mother Christine Hermeston and other family members drove 4 hours from North Bay to search for the missing woman.
[8] The body had no visible signs of trauma[13] and due to evidence at the scene and interviews with witnesses, her death was not initially treated as suspicious.
[15][16] The investigation was turned over to the TPS homicide squad on 1 December[4] and police officers continued to canvass the area for video surveillance and potential witnesses.
[15] At a news conference on 8 December, Detective Sergeant Graham Gibson outlined the sequence of events: After leaving Crews & Tango, Richey and her friend went to a hot dog cart at the intersection where they met a number of people including the unidentified man who had become a suspect in the murder.
[7] TPS arrested Kalen Schlatter, a 21-year-old man who did contract work on property exteriors,[22][23] near his residence in the west-end neighbourhood of Earlscourt[24] at about 11 pm on 4 February 2018.
[24] On the same day, Global News reported that Schlatter had witnessed an attempted murder in August 2017, when a man allegedly attacked his neighbour with a hammer.
[4][6] On 4 December 2017, Global News, which broke the story, was told by a police spokesperson that the professional standards unit was looking into the initial stages of the investigation and that they had undisclosed concerns with how the missing persons case was handled.
[13] Mark Mendelson, a former TPS homicide detective, said that the circumstances surrounding a disappearance determine the priority a missing persons case is going to receive.
[46] It is alleged that they learned it was Richey's last known location but failed to conduct a thorough search of the area, canvas the neighbourhood, or notify a superior,[47] in violation of missing-persons procedures.
[48] However, Toronto Police Association (TPA) President Mike McCormack said that the officers were on a "check address call" and not involved in the main missing-person investigation.
[47] TPS Chief Mark Saunders held an 8 December 2017 media update on four separate cases in Church and Wellesley: Richey's homicide, the death of Alloura Wells, and the disappearances of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman.
[19][51][21] In late February, Saunders suggested to Mayor John Tory and Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) Chair Andy Pringle that an external review into the handling of the missing persons cases was warranted.