The loss of her child has torn her life apart, Cheyenne Dunbar told a courtroom Thursday, during Derek SaretzkyB次元官网网址檚 triple-murder sentencing hearing.
It took a Lethbridge, Alta, jury on Wednesday to find the 24-year old guilty in the 2015 deaths of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar, her father Terry Blanchette, 27, and 69-year-old Hanne Meketech, in the community of Crowsnest Pass, Alta.
He was also found guilty of performing an indignity to HaileyB次元官网网址檚 body.
In DunbarB次元官网网址檚 victim impact statement, read by Crown prosecutor Photini Papadatou, she said she struggles with anxiety and depression.
B次元官网网址淪he was my world and my everything to me,B次元官网网址� Dunbar wrote. B次元官网网址淭hey say time heals all wounds, IB次元官网网址檓 here to tell you it doesnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淏eing a mother was a blessing that was stolen from me.B次元官网网址�
A number of other family members of the three victims made statements.
Saretzky will receive an automatic life sentence. It has yet to be determined whether he will be eligible for parole in 25, 50 or 75 years.
Crown prosecutor Michael Fox said Saretzky should not be allowed to apply for parole for 75 years, based on the brutal nature of the crimes and the recommendations of the jury.
B次元官网网址�(Hailey) was the ultimate target,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e have moral culpability at the highest level. We have acts that show a level of callousness and disregard for human life, which defies comparison to any other case that IB次元官网网址檝e been able to find.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he victims here were mere pawns of Mr. SaretzkyB次元官网网址檚 thrill seeking, I donB次元官网网址檛 know how else to describe it, and his unspeakable violence,B次元官网网址� he said.
Citing confessions to RCMP Staff Sgt. Mike McCauley, where Saretzky said the killing of the senior citizen was a rehearsal for the slaying of the toddler and her father, Fox urged the court to impose the maximum punishment.
B次元官网网址淗e was describing what he did,B次元官网网址� said Fox. B次元官网网址淭here was planning, there was practice.B次元官网网址�
Meketech was found deceased in her home in Coleman on Sept. 9, 2015.
Blanchette was found dead in his home on Sept. 14 that year. The RCMP issued an Amber Alert for Hailey that spanned three provinces and the U.S. state of Montana.
Her remains were discovered the next day in a rural part of the Crowsnest Pass community of Blairmore.
In a video-recorded confession, Saretzky led police to HaileyB次元官网网址檚 remains where he described starting a fire with books and bits of wood before strangling the little girl and burning her body.
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B次元官网网址淪o you choked her here,B次元官网网址� asks McCauley.
B次元官网网址淵eah,B次元官网网址� replies Saretzky.
The video showed Saretzky explaining how he said a prayer for Hailey after burning her body.
B次元官网网址淲hat kind of prayer?B次元官网网址� asks McCauley.
B次元官网网址淢ay God rest your soul, somethingB次元官网网址� I donB次元官网网址檛 know exactly what it is, but something along those lines,B次元官网网址� he says.
Defence lawyer Patrick Edgerton said he would submit his arguments in July. Saretzky will be sentenced on Aug. 9.
July 14 for defence to submit written submission
B次元官网网址� Ezra Black (@BlackEzra)
