Trial date delayed in triple murder case

The trial for a man accused of killing three people, including a young girl, in the Crowsnest Pass in 2015 has been delayed again.

Derek Saretzky was scheduled to stand trial May 29 on three counts of first-degree murder, but it was put off until June 5 to allow more time for pre-trial hearings and jury selection.

The date has been changed again and the multiweek trial is now set to begin June 7. Jury selection is scheduled to take place today.

Wednesday the Crown and defence presented their arguments on a voir dire hearing, which began earlier in the month in Court of Queen’s Bench. The judge is expected to rule next week on evidence presented at the voir dire and whether it will be allowed at trial. Before the trial begins next month another, albeit shorter, voir dire is expected, followed by arguments and the judge’s decision.

Saretzky has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 27-year-old Terry Blanchette and his two-year-old daughter Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette. He has also pleaded not guilty to offering an indignity to a body in the case of the toddler.

RCMP charged Saretzky shortly after Blanchette's body was found Sept. 14, 2015, at his home in Blairmore. His daughter's remains were found the next day in a rural field.

The accused has also pleaded not guilty in the death of 69-year-old Hanna Meketech. Her body was discovered in her Coleman home Sept. 9, 2015.

Evidence presented during the voir dire hearings cannot be reported under a court-order publication ban.