POSSIBLE ‘SERIAL PREDATOR'
Fourth body found in Edmonton; suspect may already be behind bars.
Rin Edmonton CMP 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,” said Talbot.
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.
Ottenbreit, an Edmonton prostitute, was last seen in the city in May 2004. The 27-year-old disappeared after telling her husband and child she was going out to work the streets.
“So you’re under arrest for the murder of Theresa Innes,” Const. John Respet told Svekla in a May, 5, 2006, interview. “You’re also a suspect in the following missing persons cases, Corrie Ottenbreit and Delores Brower. This is very serious.”
In that interview, Svekla appeared more concerned about receiving his anti-anxiety medication than anything the police were saying.
“I think the doctor screwed up on the prescription,” he said moments after being told he was charged with murdering one woman and suspected of harming two more.
At the time, the 38-year-old Svekla had just been arrested in Fort Saskatchewan during a visit with his family. The balding, smirking mechanic had dropped off a bulging hockey bag in his sister’s garage and told her it was full of compost worms.
Inside the bag, Svekla’s suspicious sister found the body of 36-year-old Innes, wrapped in wire, plastic and a deflated air mattress the colour of dried mustard. Like Ottenbreit and Brower, Innes was a sex-trade worker.
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.
RCMP linked the deaths of Innes and Quinney with several other murder cases after analysts suggested the crimes were likely committed by the same person since they shared similar characteristics.
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.
“Anyone who may have had the opportunity to be involved will be looked at in the interest of eliminating them from the file,” RCMP spokesman Cpl. Hal Turnbull said Wednesday.
“We start with a list, we investigate and we eliminate suspects one by one.”
Including Brower and Ottenbreit, the bones of four women have been discovered since 2003 in the same eight-kilometre radius east of Leduc.
“Obviously, with the proximity of these deaths it is a possibility ... that it could be one person committing these offences on a number of individuals,” RCMP Insp. Stacey Talbot said Tuesday at a news conference.
Ottenbreit, 27, was last seen May 9, 2004. Four days later, the 33-yearold Brower went missing. Both were known to work 118th Avenue, sometimes referred to as the Avenue of Champions.
Ottenbreit’s remains were identified through DNA analysis of a hair sample she provided to Project KARE, the RCMP’s task force investigating the deaths and disappearances of dozens of Albertans involved in sex work or the drug trade. Brower’s dental records helped identify her remains.
Ottenbreit’s mother Carmen released a statement after her daughter’s remains were identified. “Since May 2004, we have struggled with her absence from our lives. Today, we struggle with the sad news that we will never see her again.”
In July 2003, the body of 40-yearold Ballantyne was found in the same rural area four months after she disappeared.
The skull of Amber Tuccaro was discovered by horseback riders nearby on Sept. 1, 2012, two years after the 20-year-old went missing. The 20-year-old had just arrived from Fort McMurray with her infant son and a female friend.
Police later released an excerpt of a phone call from Tuccaro in the truck that picked up the voice of the male driver.
“You’d better not be taking me anywhere I don’t want to go,” she’s overheard telling the driver.
You’d better not be taking me anywhere I don’t want to go Anyone who may have had the opportunity to be involved will be looked at in the interest of eliminating them from the file. We start with a list, we investigate and we eliminate suspects one by one.
— RCMP spokesman Cpl. Hal Turnbull