"I dropped down to 78 pounds, I can't eat, I can't sleep...I live through finding Tess in my dreams every night. I really haven't accepted it. I really don't believe she is gone."
This from grieving mother Christine Hermeston, who shared how she wishfully sees her daughter everywhere — including one time when she spotted a young woman with her hair worn up like her daughter, on the way to the Toronto courthouse during the trial surrounding the first-degree murder of her youngest child, Tess Richey.
"I was about to yell out," she said.
Some part inside of Hermeston knows Tess is gone as she and daughter Varina Richey — older sister of Tess — participated in a virtual press conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic this morning to formally announce and answer questions about the legal action the family is taking in honouring life after Tess.
The family has filed a $20 million lawsuit. The respondents include Richey killer Kalen Schlatter, the Toronto Police Service and Chief of Police Mark Saunders, Crews & Tangos bar, and the owners of the property where Richey's body was found.
"There's no amount of money, you can't put a price on this. But, will it pay for therapy, possibly for the rest of our lives? Maybe. Will we be able to honour Tess in a way that helps this from happening to another girl in the future? Possibly."
Kalen Schlatter is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years after he was found guilty by a jury in March in the sexual assault and strangulation killing of Richey in November 2017. The trial was one of the few in Ontario to continue following the initial pandemic shutdown. Schlatter has since appealed the verdict.
Varina Richey said she and her family don't sleep much due to nightmares, can't work, and have suffered life-changing trauma due to the murder of their loved one.
Hermeston said the lawsuit includes Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders by name because, "As far as I'm concerned, he allowed them to defame Tess' name and character and seemed to have lack of control over his police officers."
See original story: Officers charged with misconduct in Tess Richey missing persons investigation
The suit maintains Saunders and TPS falsely reported Richey had been working as an escort and she had died as a result of misadventure. Hermeston characterizes her interactions with TPS as "a waste of time," sharing how she asked questions of the outgoing police chief but "he never answered one. They weren't questions that would have harmed the trial. I just wanted some answers but maybe I'll get them now."
See related story: Murder charges laid in Richey murder (police video)
The family's representation for the lawsuit, attorney Michael Smitiuch acknowledges not all of the police work in the Richey case is a target of the suit.
"The lawsuit against the police pertains to what could have been done before Tess' murder and in the search for Tess," said Smitiuch. "It is in no way a criticism of the detectives and constables who brought her killer to justice and helped secure the murder conviction. They all did an admirable job."
Smitiuch said convicted murderer Schlatter's inclusion in the lawsuit was an obvious one.
"Make no mistake about this. He is the one who made the decision to kill Tess. He is the one, above all, to blame for her death," he said. "However, in addition to the police, it is claimed in the lawsuit that other defendants created opportunities for the killer to literally lurk in the shadows and prey on Tess."
The Crews & Tangos club is also named as the lawsuit claims its staff continued to serve Richey alcohol to a level where she would be considered dangerously impaired. Both Richey and Schlatter were seen in the establishment in the hours leading up to her death.
The claim also states poor lighting — a responsibility of the owners of the property where Richey's body was discovered and of the building's renovation crew — did not deter trespassing and criminal activity on the premises.
