New details about Tess Richey's final hours may provide clues about her slaying

Nearly two months after Tess Richeydisappeared and was found dead in the Gay Village, CBCToronto has learned new details about her final hoursfrom a woman whowasone of the last people who saw her alive.

Richey, 22, went missing on Nov. 25 after a night out with a high school friend at Crews and Tangos, a nightclub on Church Street. Four days later, her mother found her bodyin a stairwell outside a building undergoing renovation just doors away from where she was last seen.

According to police,Richeyand her friend, RyleySimard, met up with a man sometime after they left the club at 1:30 a.m.

The group was captured by security cameras around 3 a.m. near a hot dog cart at the intersection of Church Street and Wellesley Street East.

Richey's death has been ruled a homicide and an autopsy revealed she died of a neck compression.Police have named theman she is seen with on the security camera video as a person of interest in the case, but haven't identified him.

'Nothing about him that stood out'

A woman named Michelle, whose last nameCBC Toronto agreed to conceal overconcerns for her safety, said Richey, Simardand the man walked by her house, near Church and Dundonaldstreets, around 3:30 a.m. while she and a friend were outside smoking after they finishedwork.

"They were kind of loud and rambunctious and she thought she was disturbing us so she was like, 'Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you,'" Michelle said of Richey.

From there, the strangersstruck up a conversation, despite having more than a20-year age difference.

"She seemed really upset and I was really drawn to her," said Michelle."She was telling me that she recently broke up with her boyfriend so she was upset."

Michelle said they talked for about 20 minutes, during which Richey, Simardand the man introduced themselves. But Michelle says she doesn't remember the man's name.

"He was quiet the whole time. He basically blended in with the background," she recalled. "There's nothing about him that stood out. That's why I didn't remember his name. He just became invisible."

She describes him as polite and shy, like "the guy next door."

"I actually believed it was a friend of hers," she said, noting when Richeygot upset during their conversation the man comforted her."I would never in a million years think he would have hurt her."

The group went to leave around 3:45 a.m. when Simard saysshe got a text from her boyfriend asking where she was. Richey and Michelle exchanged phone numbers before the group left heading westbound along DundonaldStreet toward Yonge Street.

"Sometimes I think if I had maybe stood outside for a few minutes more and just watched to see what happened, but there was nothing that made me question her safety," said Michelle.

Simardsaid she had been drinking at the bar and doesn't remember leavingRicheyand the man on YongeStreet when she caught the College streetcar home.

What happened after 4 a.m. between Richeyand the man remains unclear.

Police have reviewed video footage obtained shortly after Richey's body was found.

"There's an alley there and a stairwell and this is where we last see Tess," said Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson.

"Following this, we don't see Tess anymore ... and she's not seen by any witnesses following that time."

Gibson said the surveillance footage shows the man exiting the stairwell on his own, then heading northbound on Church Street.

'I'm here with two pairs of jeans'

Richey'sfamily has been critical of how police handled the investigation in its early days.

Richey'smother, ChristineHermeston, and a family friend found her body lying near the base of an outdoor stairwell at 582 Church St. on the afternoon of Nov. 29.

Hermeston drove around four hours to get to Toronto from North Bay, Ont., to search for her daughter.

With no updates in the case, nearly 60 days later, Hermeston is still in the city looking for clues about the man her daughter was with in her final hours.

"I'm here with two pairs of jeans and I'm wearing my kids' clothes," said Hermeston, who adds she can't go back to North Bay until she finds out what happened to her daughter.

The mother and daughter lived together in Toronto until two weeks beforeRicheywent missing becauseshe went back to North Bay to take care of her property there. She adds they had plans to spend Christmas together in Toronto before Richey was killed.

Richey'ssister, Rachel, toldCBCToronto the last records they have from her that evening is an update at 3 a.m. from herFitBit, which marked her step count, and then a series of messages fromUberat 4 a.m. that were sent toHermeston'scellphone because her account was set up using her mother's credit card.

The messagesHermestonreceived fromUbersuggestRicheyhad ordered a ride, but then it was cancelled 15 minutes later. It is unclear whetherRicheyor the driver cancelled the trip.

I won't let them forget that someone is out there.- Christine Hermeston

Richey'sFitBitlogged that she took close to 300 steps after 3 a.m.

Rachel said they recently counted the number of stepsRicheywould have taken between the front entrance of Michelle's home onDundonaldStreet to where her body was found on Church Street. She says they determined the distance totalled 126 steps, adding they don't know whereRicheywas when she took the other half of the steps.

"It's just trying to fill in as many possible details as we can find," said Rachel. "Anything that can fill in any blank."

'I won't let Toronto forget about Tess'

Richey's family members say their search for information hasn't allowed them to focus on their grief. When they're at home,Hermestonsaid they're constantly thinking of new ways to solve the mystery ofRichey'sdeath.

"You're completely living in a nightmare because you just wonder what went on in that period of time down there," she said of the stairwell whereRichey'sbody was found.

Rachel said she grew up with foursisters Tess was the youngest and they're used to sticking together.

"I think one of the reasons why it's so impossible for us to let go of control or let go of the situation, to leave it in somebody else's hands is because we've never done that," she told CBC Toronto.

"We've always very strongly taken care of each other and solved our own problems."

Amidthe family's efforts, theToronto police professional standards unit launched a probeinto how officers approachedRichey'sdisappearance.

Chief Mark Saunders said the investigation isan opportunity for the force to review and analyze its procedures in missing person cases.

"I won't let Toronto forget aboutTess," said Hermeston."I won't let them forget that someone is out there."