Tipster spotted Oshawa murder suspect “hiding in a stairwell” before calling 911
Published April 6, 2023 at 8:30 am
The arrest of Adam Odette, wanted for the murder of Katie Kainz and the stabbing of another woman in Oshawa on March 12, happened after a resident spotted him hiding in a stairwell of a building on Wilson Road in north Oshawa late Tuesday night and called 911.
Odette has been charged with second degree murder in the death of Kainz, a graduate of Fleming College’s mental health and drug addictions worker program who died in hospital two days after she and a young woman she was helping were stabbed. The other woman sustained “serious life-altering injuries,” police say.
Investigators said both women were acquaintances of Odette.
Police were able to arrest Odette soon after they arrived at the small housing complex and eventually arrested him “without incident” after he was observed exiting the building.
Chief Peter Moreira, who said tragic incidents “impact the community in many different ways” told media members at a news conference Wednesday morning investigators received “numerous tips” from the public since Odette’s image was first released to the public within days of Kainz’s murder. The anonymous tip that led to the suspect’s arrest came in at 10:25 p.m. Tuesday night.
“Every tip was diligently followed up and this tip was the one we needed,” he said. “It goes to show the importance of community partnerships, the public being aware of what is happening and communities staying informed and engaged. These are the results. This is a success story from what was a negative event that happened in our community.”
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Police made several public appeals for information about Odette and released several photographs of the suspect, including pictures showing a tattoo on his forehead with the word ‘legendary.’
Moreira also thanked the media for spreading the word on the manhunt, the D platoon at Durham Police’s Central East for “making the arrest and doing it safely” and to the 911 operators who are taking these emergency calls “day in and day out.”
Odette has been remanded in custody pending a bail hearing and Moreira said the investigation is “far from over.”
Det. Sgt Doris Carriere, who is heading up the investigation, said they “are aware” there are people in the community who had “direct communication” with Odette and are urging them to come forward and speak to police, including a person who was seen with Odette just before his arrest on Tuesday.
Kainz, 26, who grew up in Seagrave in Scugog Township and has spent much of her adult life helping people, is the sixth homicide victim in Durham Region in 2023.
Katie Kainz