Hungarian court orders extradition of Toronto man wanted in Hamilton homicide
Oliver Karafa, 28, has appealed the order, court officials say
A Hungarian court has ordered the extradition of a man police said fled Canada following a February homicide in Stoney Creek.
In a statement shared Saturday, the Metropolitan Court of Budapest said it has ordered Oliver Karafa be extradited but in a follow up email, it said the Slovakian-Canadian has appealed its order.
Karafa, 28, is wanted on an international arrest warrant by the courts in Ontario, Hungarian officials stated in the release.
He faces charges for murder and attempted murder and has been fighting extradition.
His co-accused, Yun (Lucy) Lu Li, 25, was returned to Canada on July 12.
Both Li and Karafa are from Toronto.
Warrants were issued for their arrests following the death of Tyler Pratt, 39, who investigators said was killed in a shooting that happened around 7:15 p.m. ET on Feb. 28 on Arvin Avenue in Stoney Creek.
Pratt was found dead at the scene and a 26-year-old woman was found with serious injuries. She has since been released from hospital and continues to recover, according to police.
Detectives said Li and Karafa left for eastern Europe within 24 hours of the shooting.
The two travelled through several countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic, before arriving in Budapest, Det.-Sgt. Jim Callender previously told reporters, describing their departure from Canada as "unusual."
In its statement on Saturday, the Metropolitan Court of Budapest alleged Karafa was the shooter.
Its statement said that, based on the information available, the court decided the conditions were met for extradition.
The court went on to say that provisions had also been made for the "principle of speciality" to be applied, which means Karafa could not be tried for any offence other than the one related to the extradition request.
"In the event of extradition the Canadian authorities may only bring the suspect before the courts in relation to the matters covered by this extradition request," it said.
The court noted the decision is not yet final and the matter will now go to the Budapest Regional Court of Appeal, which will rule on Karafa's appeal.