Oshawa murder suspect arrested after being spotted hiding in stairwell of building, police say

An Oshawa man wanted on a Canada-wide-warrant in connection with the fatal stabbing of Katie Kainz last month has been taken into custody.

Police say that Adam Odette was arrested late Tuesday night after an individual spotted him hiding in the stairwell of a residential building near Wilson and Rossland roads and called 911.

Police say that officers attended the scene and set up a perimeter, eventually arresting Odette “without incident” a short time later after he was observed exiting the building.

Odette has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of two women at an address on Simcoe Street on March 12.

Both women were rushed to hospital but Kainz was later pronounced dead.

Police say that the other woman sustained “serious life-altering injuries.”

The women were acquaintances of Odette, according to investigators. It is not believed that there was any dating history between Odette and either of the women.

“This has been a whole of service response and every tip was followed up on. This one here proved to be the one we needed,” Chief Peter Moreira said during a news conference on Wednesday morning. “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.”

Police identified Odette as a suspect within days of Kainz’s murder and made several public appeals for information about his whereabouts, at one point releasing photographs showing a distinctive tattoo on his forehead of the word “legendary.”

Moreira said that “numerous tips” came through as a result, ultimately leading to Tuesday night’s arrest.

“I do want to thank our 911 operators that day in, day out are taking many of these calls and triaging them. It is through their hard work that we were able to set up a perimeter as quickly as we did,” he said.

Few details have been released about the homicide and Moreira told reporters on Wednesday that the investigation is “far from over.”

Police also say that they believe that members of the community had direct contact with Odette in the weeks following the murder and are still interested in speaking with those people, including an individual who was seen in Odette’s company prior to his arrest on Tuesday.

More to come…