Oliver Karafa extradition case returns to court in Budapest Monday
Oliver Karafa's extradition case returns to court in Hungary on Monday, says the Budapest Metropolitan Court.
This comes after his hearing was twice delayed as the court sought more information about what would happen to him in Canada, where he and his girlfriend, Yun (Lucy) Lu Li, face charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in a Feb. 28 shooting in Stoney Creek.
Tyler Pratt, a 39-year-old entrepreneur from British Columbia, was killed and his 26-year-old girlfriend was shot but survived. She was pregnant and the shooting led to the loss of the pregnancy.
Karafa and Li fled to Prague, Czech Republic, after the shooting and for more than three-months they were international fugitives. The pair was arrested in June in Budapest.
Li quickly waived extradition and was flown back to Canada in the custody of Hamilton police. Karafa, who was born in Slovakia, has been fighting extradition.
During a hearing in September, Karafa's lawyers questioned his safety in jail in Canada, including presenting news articles about concerns at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. They also wanted assurances on his right to a fair trial in Hamilton and said they were waiting for information from a private investigator.
At that hearing Karafa told the court over video that it was a matter of life and death.
The deadly shooting allegedly happened when the four met for a business meeting at the back of a secluded Arvin Avenue business. Pratt had been in the process of moving to the Greater Toronto Area and was looking to establish business in the area.
According to past statements from the Budapest court, Karafa was the alleged shooter.
After the shooting the 26-year-old victim managed to make her way to the front of the business. Passersby stopped and called 911. Pratt was later found dead in a paved area behind the building. There is also a larger building at the back of the industrial property.
After the shooting, the car in which the victims travelled was stolen from the scene. A white Land Rover and another unspecified car were later recovered by police.
Records obtained and translated by the Spectator show Karafa did business in Czech Republic. Four days after the murder, his ownership in a medical supply company was dissolved and the business name was changed, according to the public and business records.
This case isn't the first time Karafa was in the news for a crime. He was sentenced to nearly five years in prison in 2014 for killing a friend and personal trainer, David Chiang, in a high-speed, drunk-driving crash.
Li is a triplet and the daughter of a high-profile Chinese-Canadian businessperson.
According to the Budapest court statement, the hearing is set for Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. in Hamilton).
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com