The Basement Apartment That Connected Two Missing Teens in Oshawa
- Strange Case Files
- Mar 1
- 4 min read
A clogged drain, a freezer, and a case that tied Kandis Fitzpatrick and Rori Hache to the same address years apart.
The hook
This case became known for one grim detail: a judge found that human remains were disposed of through plumbing. But the full story is about how police were pulled into an Oshawa basement apartment after plumbers reported what they found in the pipes, and how that call opened a timeline that eventually included two young women, separated by nearly a decade.
The setting
The investigation centered on Oshawa, Ontario, and a basement apartment linked to Adam Strong. By late December 2017, plumbers were working on the home’s drains when they pulled out what was described in court reporting as a flesh-like substance. Police were called to the residence on December 29, 2017.
The two names at the center of the case
Kandis Fitzpatrick was last seen in 2008.
Rori Hache was 18 and pregnant when she went missing in August 2017. About a month later, her torso was found in Lake Ontario.
What police were called about
Court reporting describes plumbers pulling out what appeared to be human tissue from the drains and calling police because they did not know what they were looking at. That call matters because prosecutors said Strong was not on police radar until this moment, when he was allegedly caught trying to dispose of Hache’s remains.
The first minutes at the door
According to the Crown’s opening statement as reported by CityNews, when a Durham police officer knocked at the basement apartment, Strong opened the door and allegedly said, “OK, you got me, the gig’s up, it’s a body,” followed by, “If you want to recover the rest of her, it’s in my freezer.”
What investigators said they found inside
The same reporting describes prosecutors alleging Hache’s blood was found in Strong’s bedroom, and that a large hunting knife described as designed for gutting and skinning animals was also found. This became part of the forensic picture the court later weighed.
What the judge found happened to Rori Hache
In the March 2021 decision, the judge found that Hache was killed and dismembered, and that her remains were disposed of in multiple steps, including being dumped in a lake and flushed down a toilet. The judge found Strong “meticulously” dismembered Hache’s body and dumped her torso on September 4, and that the rest of her body was stored in a freezer until Christmas Eve, when parts were cut further and disposed of by flushing.
How the case widened to Kandis Fitzpatrick
For years, Fitzpatrick’s disappearance stood on its own. That changed after police searched Strong’s home and forensic work surfaced evidence tying her to the same location.
CityNews reporting on the case described Fitzpatrick’s DNA being found in Strong’s home, including on the hunting knife prosecutors referenced in court. The significance was not just the DNA itself. It was the implication that a missing teen from 2008 had been in the same space where investigators believed Hache was killed in 2017.
The charges and what the trial was deciding
The case was heard as a judge alone trial. At the center was whether the court could be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt about what happened to each victim, and whether intent could be proven for both deaths given the very different timelines and available forensic evidence.
The verdict
On March 16, 2021, Adam Strong was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Rori Hache and guilty of manslaughter in the death of Kandis Fitzpatrick. Reporting also noted the judge rejected the idea that Strong only dismembered the bodies but did not cause their deaths.
Sentencing and current status
In May 2021, CityNews reported Strong received a life sentence for Hache’s first-degree murder conviction, with no chance of parole for 25 years. That sentence is the basis for his current incarceration status as publicly reported.
The remains discovery years later
A major unresolved piece of this story was that Fitzpatrick’s body had not been found for years.
In February 2022, CityNews reported Durham police confirmed human remains discovered in Oshawa in November 2021 were those of Kandis Fitzpatrick. Police said that with judicial approval, Strong left prison on November 4, 2021 and led investigators to the area where he said he buried Fitzpatrick’s remains. A forensics team later located partial remains on November 8, and DNA analysis confirmed her identity.
Case Facts
Location: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Year: 2008 (Fitzpatrick last seen), 2017 (Hache disappearance and Lake Ontario recovery), 2021 (verdict and sentencing), 2022 (remains confirmed)
Victims: Kandis Fitzpatrick (last seen 2008), Rori Hache (missing 2017, torso recovered)
Responsible person: Adam Strong (convicted)
Outcome: First-degree murder conviction for Rori Hache, manslaughter conviction for Kandis Fitzpatrick, life sentence with 25-year parole ineligibility, Fitzpatrick’s remains later confirmed in 2022
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