Man found his son dead and granddaughter gone, Saretzky trial hears
Flicking on the bathroom light of his son’s Blairmore home led William Blanchette to a grisly discovery — his son’s lifeless body.
Blanchette, testifying at the triple-murder trial of Derek Saretzky Monday, said he made a surprise visit to see his son and granddaughter on the morning of Sept. 14, 2015.
Blanchette was driving from his home in Elkford, B.C., to Calgary, when he decided to stop by for a quick coffee or early lunch with his son, Terry.
“I just went to Terry’s place, and when I got there I saw his car was there so he was obviously home,” the elder Blanchette told Crown prosecutor Photini Papadatou.
He said he peeked inside the unlocked door and called out, but got no response. But Blanchette didn’t think anything was out of the ordinary with his son, or granddaughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette.
“I kind of thought he might have taken her for a little walk,” the grandfather said.
Blanchette returned to his vehicle, sent his son a quick note jokingly asking if he was up yet and then went to get gas.
When he returned and still saw no sign of his son or granddaughter, Blanchette entered the home.
“There were two things I noticed that weren’t typical to Terry’s house,” he said.
He said the door to the upstairs area where Hailey’s bedroom was located was open and “his blanket or comforter was on the floor” between his son’s bedroom and the bathroom.
“I noticed what to me looked like a lot of blood on the kitchen floor,” Blanchette said.
He couldn’t find his son until he came to the darkened bathroom.
“I turned the bathroom light on and that’s when I saw Terry,” he said.
“He was mostly wrapped in (a) blanket on his back between the toilet and the vanity,” he said. “I touched his stomach.” And what did you feel?” Papadatou asked. “Cold,” he replied. “I went upstairs and Hailey wasn’t there.”
Saretzky, 24, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Terry Blanchette, 27, and twoyear-old Hailey.
He’s also charged with firstdegree murder in the slaying of Hanne Meketech, 69, of nearby Coleman, who was killed Sept. 9, 2015, five days before Blanchette made his grisly discovery.
Blanchette testified his son had joint custody of Hailey with his former girlfriend, Cheyenne Dunbar, with each caring for the toddler two weeks at a time.
He said the pair had issues between them, but no problem with their joint care of Hailey.
Court also heard evidence someone was in the back alley behind Terry Blanchette’s home in the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2015.
Darren Rypien said he awoke to see a white van in his next-door neighbour’s driveway across the alley from the Blanchette residence.
“I thought it was very strange there was an oversized van in my 85-year-old neighbour’s driveway,” he said.
“I heard a child’s voice, either in the van, or around the van,” Rypien said. “It was like a whimpering, whining, screaming type of voice.”
He said it sounded like a child complaining about being woken up.
The van pulled out around 3:30 a.m. and then he saw it speed away down his street when he looked out his front window.
The trial resumes Tuesday.