Serial killer suspected in deaths of four women
EDMONTON — RCMP in Alberta say the discovery of a woman’s remains in the same area where the bodies of three other women have been found could mean police are dealing with a serial killer.
RCMP Insp. Stacey Talbot said Tuesday that the remains found in April on a rural property near Leduc, south of Edmonton, have been identified as those of Corrie Ottenbreit. “We consider Corrie’s death to be a homicide,” Talbot said. “We do not know what happened to Corrie. We are asking for the public’s assistance.”
Police have now found the remains of four women within an eight-kilometre radius in Leduc County. “One of the investigative theories in relation to these deaths is we may be dealing with a serial predator,” Talbot said.
Nine years ago, they appeared to have found a suspect.
In May 2006, investigators told convicted killer Thomas George Svekla he was suspected in the disappearance of Ottenbreit and 33-year-old Delores Dawn Brower. She too went missing in May 2004. Const. John Respet also told Svekla he was a suspect in the homicides of Bernadette Ahenakew, Edna Bernard, Debbie Lake, Monique Pitre, Melissa Much, Katie Sylvia Ballantyne and Rachel Quinney, all women whose remains were found in muddy fields south and east of Edmonton.
Svekla was later convicted of murdering Innes and acquitted of killing Quinney. The other women’s cases remain open.
Svekla was declared a dangerous offender after his murder conviction and is now serving an indefinite prison sentence.
The RCMP now won’t comment specifically about Svekla.