Watchdog clears police of criminal offences in handling of Lumby, B.C., death

British Columbia's police watchdog group has closed its investigation of a woman's death in April in Lumby, B.C., saying it did not find any evidence of a criminal offence in officers' handling of the case. 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 Monday, May 13, 2024. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

British Columbia's police watchdog group has closed its investigation of a woman's death in April in Lumby, B.C., saying it did not find any evidence of a criminal offence in officers' handling of the case.

Tatjana Stefanski's body was discovered on April 14 after she was reportedly taken from her home a day earlier, and her partner said the couple had previously received extreme threats that were reported to police four months before her disappearance and death.

In an announcement released this week, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says its interim chief civilian director has finished looking into the case and found "no reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence was committed by any officer."

The watchdog launched a review of the case in May as police handling of the case and the alleged threats made against Stefanski came under scrutiny.

The RCMP say the woman's ex-husband, Vitali Stefanski, was charged with second-degree murder in May and the court case is ongoing.

The Independent Investigations Office said in May when it started looking into the case that it was hoping to determine "what role, if any, police action or inaction may have played in the death."

The watchdog group says a public report on its findings will not be published until the conclusion of the criminal court proceedings in the Stefanski case.

The decision did not identify the victim by name.

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

He had said in a previous interview that Stefanski's father living in Germany was contacted by someone threatening to "chop … up" the woman and "send her back in a body bag."

In a Facebook post following the IIO decision, Gaudreault said he is "absolutely at a loss" and that "everything could have been prevented."

"Nothing was done for us back in December and I feel nothing is being done for us now," Gaudreault wrote in the post. "I can understand the RCMP not being criminally responsible but what about policy or reporting offences?"

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