A man accused of killing a young woman in Toronto's gay village last year is seeking bail at a two-day hearing beginning today.
Kalen Schlatter is charged with first-degree murder in the November 2017 death of 22-year-old Tess Richey who, according to police, died of ``neck compression.''
Four people have come forward offering to act as Schlatter's sureties.
Richey was reported missing Nov. 25 after a night out with a friend in Toronto's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood.
Her mother, who travelled from the family home in North Bay, Ont., to search for her daughter, found Richey's body four days later in a stairwell at the back of an alley, just steps from where she was last seen.
Police have faced public criticism for their failure to find Richey in the days after her disappearance.
NEWSTALK1010 chief legal analyst Ed Prutschi says it's not unheard of that someone facing a charge of first degree murder would get bail.
"Just because it's a murder charge doens't mean it's impossible for him to get bail, it's obviously more challenging, but it is possible." says Prutschi.
He says there will have to be a good surety plan in place in order to be granted bail, and there could be a substantial amount of money that would have to be pledged, ensuring he'd abide by the conditions while on release.