Police are searching in Europe for Mladen Ivezic (also known as Michael), 52, of Mississauga, who faces a charge of first-degree murder. Credit: Police file photo
Allan Lanteigne was found murdered on March 3, 2011. Credit: Police file photo
UPDATE — JAN 16, 2013:
Greek police have arrested Mladen (Michael) Ivezic, Toronto lawyer Demitry Papasotiriou’s alleged co-conspirator in the March 3, 2011 murder of Allan Lanteigne.
Ivezic was arrested in Athens with the help of Interpol. He will now face extradition to Canada to stand trial for the alleged first degree murder of Lanteigne.
It is unknown whether Ivezic will face trial together with Papasotiriou.
Xtra is following this story.
Allan Lanteigne murder: husband charged, police hunt alleged hit man
NOV 5, 2012: Charged with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged husband, Allan Lanteigne, Demitry Papasotiriou, age 32, made a 10-minute court appearance at Toronto’s Old City Hall courthouse on Nov 3.
Lanteigne, an accounting clerk at the University of Toronto, was found dead on March 3, 2011, after he failed to show up for work, in the Ossington Avenue house he once shared with Papasotiriou. The last known time Lanteigne was in contact with anyone was March 2.
Though he had spent the past day in a jail cell, Papasotiriou appeared clean-shaven and fit, nattily dressed in a tailored dark-grey suit with a white shirt and tie, and sporting long, curly, dark-blond hair.
Papasotiriou’s two lawyers spoke for him; he said nothing except his name. The discussion in court between the defence and the Crown is subject to a publication ban by the court.
Papasotiriou remains in jail. His next court appearance will be by video link with Old City Hall court on Nov 16.
The Law Society of Upper Canada’s website lists Papasotiriou as a “suspended” lawyer, after a hearing in September in which he was “found to have engaged in professional misconduct.”
It will be a long time before the case proceeds to formal trial. A move to Superior Court for a bail hearing is expected soon. A preliminary hearing to examine evidence will likely take place within the next six months.
Interpol in Europe is still looking for Mladen Ivezic (also known as Michael), 52, of Mississauga, who is alleged by police to be Papasotiriou’s co-conspirator in the murder. Police say Ivezic, who they describe as a “business associate” of Papasotiriou, will also face a charge of first-degree murder.
Police have not yet said what the conspiracy was between the two men, how it was carried out, or anything about what evidence they have. It is likely, though, that they will allege that Papasotiriou, who was in Switzerland working on a PhD in law at the time of the murder, hired a hit man to carry out the murder and that Papasotiriou gave him details of Lanteigne’s movements and a key to the house.
NOV 2, 2012: Two people have been charged with the murder of Allan Lanteigne, a gay University of Toronto accounting clerk.
Lanteigne was found dead in his Ossington Avenue home on March 3, 2011, after his co-workers at U of T were worried when he did not come into the office that day.
In custody is Lanteigne’s husband since 2004, Demitry Papasotiriou, age 32. He faces a charge of first-degree murder.
At the time, Papasotiriou was a PhD student in law and was studying in Switzerland the week of the murder, according to lead homicide investigator Detective Tam Bui and friends of Lanteigne interviewed by Xtra.
An Interpol warrant has been issued for the alleged hit man, who police believe to be “somewhere in Europe.”
Wanted for first-degree murder is Mladen Ivezic, 52, of Mississauga, also known as Michael, who Bui described as a “business associate” of Papasotiriou.
When asked directly if the murder was a contract killing, Bui stated that it was “a domestic” killing and would not elaborate further.
Earlier accounts reported Lanteigne had been bludgeoned to death, but on Nov 2 police would not say how he died, as “it is part of the investigation.”
At the time of the murder, both police and neighbours interviewed by Xtra stated that there had been no forced entry to the house. When asked Nov 2 whether the alleged killer had a key and entered the house without force, Bui would not answer.
Sources close to Lanteigne also told Xtra that Papasotiriou wanted out of the marriage and that his family owned the Ossington Avenue home where Lanteigne and Papasotiriou lived.
Papasotiriou is now in jail awaiting a bail hearing. He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall at 10am on Sat, Nov 3 in courtroom 101.
Police are asking anyone with information connected to the crime to contact them at 416-808-7400, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or contact them online at 222tips.com.
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