Lethbridge jury finds Derek Saretzky guilty of triple murder

LETHBRIDGE – It took the jury just over three hours to decide the fate of 24-year old Derek Saretzky, finding him guilty on three counts of first degree murder, and one count of committing an indignity to human remains.

The emotionally charged trial had to be paused a number of times, as members of the jury broke down crying while reviewing evidence, surrounding the deaths of 69-year old Hanne Meketech, 27-year old Terry Blanchette and his two-year old daughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette. All three were killed in the Crowsnest Pass in September of 2015.

Before deliberations could begin, Justice William Tilleman noted that two jurors would have to be randomly removed, to bring their number down to 12, as 14 sat through the trial. One of the two to be excused had an outburst on her way out of the courtroom over the decision.

The conviction means three automatic life sentences for Saretzky, with parole eligibility after 25-years for each victim. The question remaining is whether those terms will be concurrent or consecutive, which would mean the difference between a minimum of 25 or 75-years in prison.

Because the case involves multiple homicides, Justice Tilleman stated that the jury could make recommendations on parole ineligibility. He explained that not all members needed to make a recommendation, and that they didn’t have to be unanimous. After taking some time to consider it, all 12 jurors returned with a recommendation that Saretzky be ineligible for parole for 75-years.

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The case was then adjourned until Thursday morning (June 29), at which time victim impact statements will be delivered to the court, sentencing arguments will be made, and a sentence could be handed down.

Following the decision and outside the courthouse, defence lawyer, Patrick Edgerton, spoke to the media.

Key evidence against Saretzky

A large part of the Crown’s case – which took 11 days to present to the jury – was based on two video-taped confessions Saretzky made to police, along with a re-enactment he did, in which he took officers to the scene where he killed Hailey, and described how he took her life and cannibalised her.

Saretzky’s father, Larry Saretzky, asked police to talk to his son on Sept. 15, 2015, the day after Terry’s body was found and an Amber Alert was issued for Hailey, who was missing. He testified through tears that when he asked Derek about Hailey, his son responded that “she was in heaven.”

In speaking with officers, Saretzky then told them that Hailey was “floating around,” that God was behind what had happened, and that God had told him Hailey “didn’t have a very good life.” It was at that time that Saretzky was taken into custody.

The first confession came about an hour into an interview Saretzky did with Staff Sgt. Mike McCauley that same day, as police continued to hold out hope that they could find Hailey alive.

When asked if the little girl was still alive, Saretzky responded, “She’s not alive,” before breaking down and saying, “The devil made me turn her into ashes.”

He told McCauley that after entering the Blanchette home and killing Terry in his bed, he drove Hailey out to a campsite, where he started to build a fire. When it was big enough, he says he choked her, removed her head and limbs, and turned to cannibalism.

“I ate a little bit of her heart,” he told McCauley. “It made me stronger, for a bit, just a little bit.

“I drained her blood, I drank most of it,” he then continued.

Near the end of the interview, he then asked McCauley, “Think I’d have a chance if I plead insanity?”

From that point, Saretzky took police to the scene where he killed Hailey, and described to them how he did it.

As they left the scene, Saretzky said that Terry had once come after him with a bat, and had been following and stalking him. When McCauley asked if that’s why Saretzky attacked Terry, he replied, “Yeah, I guess.”

The second confession came on Mar. 2, 2016, in relation to Hanne Meketech, who was killed before Terry and Hailey, as her body was discovered by a neighbour on Sept. 9, 2015.

Once again, McCauley conducted the interview, and after making small talk, he asked Saretzky if he wanted to apologize to his grandparents for killing their friend, Hanne, to which he replied, “Yeah.”

“Somehow, I thought it was ok,” stated Saretzky, before going over details that McCauley said only a few police officers and the killer would know. “I kicked the door in and hit her in the head with a bat… I hit her in the head with a bat, stabbed her and left.”

When asked why he targeted Hanne, Saretzky responded, “I didn’t think anybody cared about her.”

Saretzky then said, “Yeah, I guess,” after being asked by McCauley if Hanne had been a practice kill to prepare for the murders of Terry and Hailey.

Following those videos and a significant amount of forensic evidence presented by the Crown, Edgerton elected to call no evidence.