RCMP officers take the stand in Saretzky triple-murder trial
The RCMP’s team commander at two Crowsnest Pass murder scenes told a Lethbridge courtroom Wednesday that Larry Saretzky had said his son Derek told him “he’s done something bad” and that “the devil is talking to him.”
Sgt. Stephen Browne also said similarities between the two scenes — both adult victims were attacked in a bedroom with blunt-force trauma and were stabbed — led to their suspect.
Testimony in the triple murder trial Wednesday came from four RCMP officers, including Brown, a blood pattern analyst, a tire impression expert and the exhibit custodian responsible for seizing items for evidence from Derek Saretzky’s apartment.
Derek, 24, is on trial for the 2015 Blairmore murders of Terry Blanchette, his daughter twoyear-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, and the Coleman murder of 69-year-old Hanne Meketech.
Browne was analyzing the Meketech scene after forensics had processed it when he was called to a scene in Blairmore at Blanchette’s home.
“It was obvious in my mind this was a homicide,” he told court. “I didn’t expect to walk into what I walked into.”
When Browne arrived at Blanchette’s home, Terry’s father, Bill, was asking where his granddaughter was. The Amber Alert was soon activated and became the top priority, Browne told court.
He said RCMP moved to Saretzky’s apartment, originally to search for Dunbar-Blanchette. They didn’t have a search warrant at first when Larry Saretzky let them in, but the Amber Alert was grounds to enter.
Browne said they found blood smears, bloody cowboy boots, latex gloves and the tire iron. Larry then had a conversation with Browne, which led to Derek becoming a suspect.
Browne said he pleaded with Derek to let them know where Hailey was. Browne told court Derek said, “Her spirit is floating around. Her body was in his sperm cells.”
Derek became a suspect in Hanne’s murder when a list discovered in his apartment had her name on it, says Browne.
A minimum of seven transfer blood stains, consistent with Terry’s blood, were found in the Blanchette home, Sgt. Jennifer Barnes said earlier Wednesday.
Barnes is an RCMP blood pattern analyst. Through a PowerPoint presentation shown to court, she described a drip trail and footwear impressions found in Blanchette’s kitchen, as well as an L-shaped transfer stain — all with DNA consistent to Blanchette’s.
Barnes told court “swipe patterns” consistent with being created by a blood source matching Blanchette’s DNA were in the bedroom, and “hundreds of spatter stains” were in the bathroom where Blanchette’s body was found. Stains were “consistent with being created by a force applied multiple times,” while different angles of blood was dispersed on many items in bathroom.
“I couldn’t get a single point of origin in this scene,” Barnes told court, adding transfer stains also found in hallways, on a screen door, and on deck all “consistent with an object” coming in contact with blood.
Barnes also examined some of the exhibits from Saretzky’s apartment, including a pair of cowboy boots with spatter stains and transfer stains.
“The boots were in proximity to a blood-letting event that caused the spatter,” Sgt. Barnes told court.
Boxer shorts with blood on the inside and tissue saturation on socks were also found in Saretzky’s apartment.
The boots found contained elements of blood, RCMP Const. Roland Babinec told court. Babinec was responsible for seizing items for evidence from Saretzky’s apartment.
He also collected DNA swabs from a white van belonging to Prestige Cleaners, owned by the Saretzky family. That van was also discussed on Wednesday by Cpl. Jacques Neri, an expert in tire impression analysis.
Neri, a 27-year RCMP veteran, told court he analyzed impressions from the rural scene where Dundar-Blanchette’s remains were found.
“This tire found on the vehicle could have made the impression at the scene,” Neri told court.
The trial continues Thursday. Four witnesses are expected, including an RCMP officer who took statements from Saretzky the Crown says are confessions.