Escape to Canada and 20 years of living under fictitious names: how a Ukrainian hid from American justice

How long can you live in Canada as an illegal immigrant? Here is a story about a Ukrainian citizen who lived clandestinely in Canada for more than 20 years in a remote corner of the province of Ontario, writes Ukrainian Canada - Ukrainian Canada

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It all started in 2000 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Igor Kovmlykov, a Ukrainian citizen, was accused of murdering Polish immigrant Jan Jasinski. According to the police, the conflict between Kovmlykov and Yasinsky escalated into a violent fight, after which Yan was found dead in his own yard.

The US police called Kovmlykov a “Russian immigrant,” although in fact he was and remains a citizen of Ukraine.

Escape and life in Canada

In 2000, after he was put on the wanted list, Igor Kovmlykov illegally crossed the border in the Detroit area and fled to Canada.

In 2001, Igor met social worker Maria di Lorenzo. They settled on a small farm in Berks Falls, almost 300 kilometers north of Toronto. Maria told the investigation that there was not even a normal mobile connection on their farm; they had to drive away from the house to make a call.

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The closest neighbors were a retired married couple who lived secludedly on their farm about one and a half kilometers from Kovmlykov and Di Lorenzo.

The Ukrainian lived in this quiet refuge for twenty years.

Arrest and exposure

On December 31, 2021, Ontario Provincial Police responded to a domestic dispute call near Berks Falls. The call came from Kovmlykov's farm. During the arrest, he resisted and gave a false name. But the fingerprints taken from him matched those kept in the American police base. It was then that it turned out that the man whom the neighbors knew as George was in fact the fugitive Igor Kovmlykov.

Judgment

During the trial in a Canadian court on February 10, 2022, it turned out that US law enforcement authorities refused extradition and further prosecution in the murder case. The case was actually opened two decades ago. Finding evidence of guilt or innocence is almost impossible, and there is no point in wasting energy and resources on a murder that happened twenty years ago. Let's assume that the lack of evidence forced the American authorities to abandon the criminal prosecution of Kovmlykov. Although this acquitted him in the eyes of Canadian justice, one very important “but” remained - illegal stay in Canada, that is, a violation of immigration law.

Since Kovmlykov is in Canada illegally, Judge Daniel McKone decided to remand him in custody until a decision on deportation from Canada is made. The judge admitted that Kovmlykov’s alleged escape was unlikely: a 55-year-old not very healthy man, who had lived and worked on a farm in the wilderness for twenty years, was unlikely to take off.

However, this man’s turbulent past still inspired fears, although he himself said that he had no intention of fleeing and did not want to return to Ukraine.

It is interesting that the bail for Kovmlykov was offered to be paid by the same couple of quiet retired neighbors who had very little savings and lived practically on a subsistence basis. The honest old men knew the neighbor as George, never asked him about his past and, nevertheless, were ready to pay money for his release from custody. But Kovmlykov’s common-law wife, who knew very well about her husband’s past and had the means, was in no hurry to post bail. This, apparently, became the decisive argument for leaving the man in custody.

In mid-February 2022, Igor Kovmlykov remained in custody pending further court hearings. He must undergo a PRRA (pre-removal risk assessment) and obtain documents to return to Ukraine, where he is still a citizen. However, with the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the deportation of Ukrainians from Canada has been suspended.

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This story reminds us how difficult it is to escape justice, even if you have been hiding from it for decades. Igor Kovmlykov thought he could start a new life in a small Canadian town, but eventually the truth came out.

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