Friends of Hanne Meketech are expected to testify on Friday at the trial for a man accused of killing the Coleman senior and two other Crowsnest Pass residents in 2015.
Derek Saretzky is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Meketech, 69, Terry Blanchette, 27, and Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, almost two years ago.
** WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT FOLLOWS **
Terry Blanchette was found dead, with his throat slit, in his Blairmore area home by his father.
The body of Blanchette’s daughter, Hailey, was located a few days later at a rural property and a neighbour found Meketech dead in her home a few days after that.
On Thursday, three witnesses described the scene at Meketech’s home including Dr. Jefferey Gofton, who was then a medical examiner in Alberta.
Gofton told the court that Meketech died from two skull fractures that caused damage to her brain and that two stab wounds to her neck likely happened soon after her death.
Constable Carla Perrin, one of the first responding officers, also testified and said that Meketech’s home showed signs of forced entry including splits in the door frame and a broken door latch that was found on the floor.
Sergeant Ashley Davidson, a blood stain expert, was also called as a witness and said that most of the blood was found inside the bedroom where Meketech's body was found.
Davidson said there were hundreds of blood droplets and a pool of blood measuring about six square feet at the scene. He also told the court that evidence suggested she was hit with an object and blood splatter on the wall indicated something was swung through the air.
The Crown alleges that Saretzky confessed to killing Meketech in a videotaped interview that will be played later in the trial.
On Friday, Irvin “Dwight” LaRose, a long-time acquaintance and neighbour of Meketech, was the first witness to testify. He said everyone in Coleman knew her and that he was out walking on September 8th when one of his dogs ran up to her door and started sniffing around.
Lisa Markowski, manager of a restaurant where Meketech was a regular, was next and told the court that she saw Meketech on September 8th but that the Coleman senior did not come in the next day.
The third witness to testify was Saretzky’s grandfather, Terry Megli. Megli said that he was Meketech’s neighbour and had known her for 25 years. He went on to say that she was a ‘very nice lady’ and a ‘good friend with a really big heart’.
He told the jury that Saretzky used to mow Meketech’s lawn and said that his grandson asked to speak with him but that he claims Saretzky was having issues with drugs and alcohol and that he didn’t want that in his house.
Under cross examination, Megli said he never witnessed any fights or arguments between Saretzky and Meketech. He added that Meketech and her ex-husband went through a bad divorce and fought often.
Megli said that Meketech came into about $90,000 and that she kept the cash in her trailer because she didn’t trust banks.
The Crown has wrapped its case for the day and the trial will resume on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
Saretzky, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
@CTVKaellaCarr is covering the trial for CTV News.
