Derek Saretzky charged in slayings of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father

DerekSaretzkyhas been accused of murdering a two-year-old girl and her father in southern Alberta.

The 22-year-old was arrested on Tuesday in the town ofBlairmore in southwest Alberta. Police believeSaretzkyis behind the deaths ofHaileyDunbar-Blanchetteand TerryBlanchette.

Here's what we knowabout him so far.

He wasfriends withHailey'smother

Hailey'smother, CheyenneDunbar,broke down in tears as shespoke to reportersfromBlairmore,which is one of severaltownsin the mountain community ofCrowsnest Pass. Police had just announced they chargedSaretzkyin the investigation.

Dunbar said she used to hang out in the same crowd as himand that there was never any anger between friends in the group.

"When I knew him he was a great kid," she told reporters.

Dunbar says she is struggling to understand why her daughter was killedand how a former friend could possibly be involved. She says she hasn't spoken to him for three yearsand was never involved with him romantically.

It's something that her fatherwanted to make clear to reporters Wednesday.KevinDunbarsays he is angry about some media reports that say his daughter was involved withSaretzky.

"I'm angry about some of the things that are being splashed across the media about my daughter," he said.

He also saidhe moved his family away fromBlairmore.

"It's terrible. All the kids out here are into drugs, and they're all into just being bad kids, and it was having an effect on my kids, and we needed to move," he said.

RCMP saySaretzkyandBlanchettealso knew each other, but investigators did not elaborate about how.While neighbours have said the two men didn't get along, CheyenneDunbarsaid she didn't know they knew each other.

Cheyenne Dunbar on relationship with accused

9 years ago

Duration 0:29

Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette's mother speaks to how she knew Derek Saretzky.

Lived in the Crowsnest Pass

Saretzkywas reportedlyworking at adry cleaning company calledPrestige Cleanersowned by his grandfather. Hehastwoolderbrothers.

RCMP saySaretzkylived inBlairmoreand came from awell-likedfamily in the Crowsnest Passarea.

"They are longtime residents of our community. It's awell-known family, for sure," saidMayor Blair Painter.

He says it's tough in small town where everyone knows each other, and it has had a dramatic effect on the residents there.

"I believe our community is totally heartbroken," said Painter.

He says he reached out toHailey'sgrandmother, Terry-Lynn Dunbar, to express his condolences.She posted astatement on FacebookWednesday that said Hailey's parents "loved their little girl more than anything in the world."

Faces3 charges

RCMP arrested Saretzky on Tuesday, and he was formally charged Wednesdaymorning.

HaileyDunbar-Blanchette'sbody was discovered onTuesday afternoon in a rural area nearBlairmore. Police had issued an Amber Alert for the young girlafter discovering her father's body on Monday morning.

"Amber Alert worksand was critical to resolvingthis situation in Blairmore," saidSupt.TonyHamori.

A family memberfound 27-year-old TerryBlanchetteat 11 a.m., and that's when police discovered his young daughter was missing.

Witnesses toldRCMPthat they saw a white van speeding away from the home thatBlanchetteshared with his father and daughter at 3:30 a.m. Police believe they have recovered the vehicle.

Information gathered during the investigation led officers to the area where the body was found, police said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

Past charges

The RCMParecontinuing the investigationand planto continue searching areas in Blairmore some of which will require obtainingsearch warrants.

I hadpersonally never seen anything other than a very nice boy who talked to me, met with me in the post officeand discussed with me how he was trying to get his life together.- Lisa Sygutek, publisher, CrowsnestPass Herald

Saretzky will remain in custody until making his first court appearance in Lethbridgenext Wednesday.

He has no criminal record but was supposed to appear in court on Tuesday onoutstanding charges of breaking and entering and possession of property under $5,000 from an incidentinAugust.

Court records also revealSaretzkyfaced stolen property and theft charges in 2012 and 2013, matters that were dealt with by alternative measures,meaning the prosecution withdrew the charges after Saretzky met certain conditions.

Derek Saretzky charged in Alberta homicides

9 years ago

Duration 10:02

RCMP update their investigation into slayings of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father, Terry Blanchette

'Trying to get his life together'

Lisa Sygutek, the publisher at the Crowsnest Pass Herald newspaper, said she knewSaretzkyfor years. Heplayed hockey with her son, a team which was coached bySaretzky's dad.

"I've been hearing stories from family members, and the younger kids in our family, that have said that he was on a bit of a bad row lately and that he was doing some bad things," she said.

"But I hadpersonally never seen anything other than a very nice boy who talked to me, met with me in the post officeand discussed with me how he was trying to get his life together."

She said the tragedyseems unreal and hopesthe community can come together totake care of both families as the town heals.

"So, we've lost Terry, we've lostHailey,and now we've got two families that are never going to be the same," said Sygutek."It's never going to be the same in this community again."