Edmonton Police said the 2015 disappearance of Dwayne Demkiw has officially been classified as a homicide, and a U.S. man who is in custody in Washington State is facing extradition, and charges connected to the slaying.
Demkiw was last seen leaving his place of work in the area of 149 Street and 128 Avenue in Edmonton at about 4 a.m. on May 31, 2015.
Demkiw’s friend and former boss spoke to CTV News inside the business where the man was last seen.
“He just finished cleaning the limo,” Ryan Hargreaves said. “We had him on tape, on camera, looks like he was talking to someone, he opened up the door, did something with his hands and that was it.”
His vehicle was found later that day, abandoned and on fire in Calgary.
Demkiw’s remains were found on April 5, 2016, near Innisfail, Alberta.
Demkiw’s younger brother Darren Demkiw did not speak with CTV News in an interview, but released a short statement:
“I prefer not to comment on the case itself. We continue to support the EPS in the ongoing investigation. We just hope justice is served.”
The investigation by the EPS Homicide Section connected Jason Steadman, 41, an American citizen, to Demkiw’s disappearance.
According to U.S. court extradition documents that cite officials in Canada, a possible motive for Demkiw’s killing could be that a woman who had been seeing Demkiw, was once Steadman’s girlfriend. The allegations by Canadian officials also say Steadman was using the identity of another man, identified as Robert Aubrey-Maxwell of Ontario, at the time of Demkiw’s death.
Aubrey-Maxwell was last known to be in Vancouver in 2012, according to the court documents.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Back in mid-October, 2015, police issued a Canada-wide warrant for Steadman on first-degree murder and arson charges.
Police said currently, Steadman is behind bars in Washington. EPS and the Attorney General of Alberta have asked for Steadman’s extradition.
The homicide is considered Edmonton’s 19th homicide of 2015.
With files from David Ewasuk
