A shooting victim testified in court that her slain husband “loved” the accused killer

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HAMILTON — Tyler Pratt “loved” his new friend and business partner, Oliver Carafa, Pratt's fiancee said in court Thursday.

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According to Pratt's fiancee, this love will be unrequited.

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Four months after the recently transplanted British Columbia native moved to southern Ontario, he lay dead in an industrial area in Stony Creek with six bullet holes in his muscular body.

His fiancée, Jordyn Romano, was lucky to survive the secret encounter after being shot three times. She had no unborn child.

“I really liked Oliver, he was always very nice and caring,” Romano said in court in Hamilton on Thursday. “Tyler loved Oliver, it was a great friendship. He loved her.'

On Thursday, Romano weaved a tapestry of fraud, easy money and bitter betrayal.

Carafa, 29, and his girlfriend, one-time “influencer” Yoon Lu “Lucy” Lee, are now on trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder in the Feb. 28, 2021, murder of Pratt and the shooting of Romano.

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Both pleaded not guilty.

Romano, 29, said he moved to Toronto in September 2020 with Pratt, who made a lot of money selling cocaine in B.C.

“We wanted to start a family and put the bad things behind us,” Romano said

According to him, in October, they met Karafa through a mutual friend. But thanks to Pratt's ill-gotten gains, realizing the couple's dreams will be more difficult than planned.

Carafe had all the answers.

According to Romano, Carafa and Lee orchestrated massive fraud schemes. On the one hand, he said, Carafa said he had a deal to make boffo bucks on PPE, rubber gloves and anything else that would wear gloves.

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He also said there are proposals for a cannabis business, selling insulin to American diabetics and other activities.

He said Pratt has the money up front to make it happen — $170,000 to get things going, and then the fortune will roll. According to him, a mutual friend vouched for Karafa and is participating in the action.

The cash went through Romano's account, he said, because Pratt was in the cash-only world of drugs.

A problem soon arose. Romano Carafa told the couple he could not withdraw the millions from their European account because he would be red-flagged and his account would be suspended.

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“We expected a profit of millions of dollars. After our initial investment, we put in another $300,000 to get more trucks so the money would come in faster… we wanted to turn the money around,” Romano said, as Carafa showed them he had $12 million in his Prague account.

He said a meeting at Lee's wealthy and well-connected mother's house would open up more opportunities. According to Romano, he was advised to take out a life insurance policy as a way to repatriate illusory European profits to Canada. According to Romano, Lee told them that his mother helped rich Chinese people get their money to Canada.

The re-examination is expected to begin next week.

According to Romano, he and Pratt began not knowing where their money was. On March 1, 2021, he said the couple were to cash a $1 million check courtesy of Lee's mother, who said Lee was “so rich he couldn't pass it up.”

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In court, Romano read a text from Carafa when the deals were made: “Oh, I told my daughter we're going on vacation to Italy, like the Amalfi Coast, for a favor. They hit $100,000 each.”

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The court heard that on February 18, 2021, Romano sent Carafa a birthday card and gave her a “wonderful day”. Romano said he and Pratt bought a diamond necklace for a new friend.

Romano paused on the witness stand, his voice cracking.

“We thought they were really good friends … it's such a shame,” she said, composing herself.

Assistant Crown attorney Stephen Kim asked him what he was embarrassed about.

“It was all fake,” he replied.

The two-month trial will continue on Friday. Carafa and Lee have pleaded not guilty.

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