Derek Saretzky hung out with toddler he's accused of murdering and her mother a year before killings

The mother of a slain toddler testified she had a five-month friendship with Derek Saretzky when Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was an infant, and that sometimes the baby was there when she spent time with the man accused of choking and dismembering her daughter.

Cheyenne Dunbar told jurors she and Saretzky were never romantically involved, despite his claim to an RCMP investigator that the pair dated.

The trial is close to a conclusion, with the Crown saying it will likely rest its case Friday morning after lawyers take Thursday to deal witha legal issue.

Dunbarsaid that during their friendship, she and Saretzky would hang out a couple of times a week sometimes at Saretzky's mother's home, sometimes at Blanchette's.

Saretzky, 24, who lived inBlairmore, Alta., has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing HanneMeketech, 69, and then five days later killing TerryBlanchette, 27, and his daughter,HaileyDunbar-Blanchette, 2.

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Though he has smiled and smirked through much of the trial, Saretzky barely lookedat Dunbar as she testified.

Dunbar said shehad an off-and-on relationship with Blanchette and lived with him twice,once beforeHaileywas born and again when their daughter was four months old.

In 2015, the parents shared custody for two weeks at a time, but at the time of the killings, Cheyenne was moving to Edmonton, soBlanchettehad the girl for several extra weeks.

Dunbarsaid her friendship withSaretzkylasted from whenHaileywas three months old until she was eight months old.

When the lead investigator on the Blanchette homicide, Cpl. JoanyParadis,arrived inBlairmoreon Sept. 14, police believedHaileymight still be alive.

"Our primary objective was to findHaileyDunbar-Blanchette," said Paradis,who was the Crown's final witness.

After Saretzkywas arrested on Sept. 15,Paradisbriefed theRCMPinterview specialist ahead of the interrogation. Police still needed to know if the child was dead or alive.

In videotaped interviews with police, Saretzky said he had feelings for Dunbar. He said he killed Blanchette because he believed he was abusive toward Dunbar and had given him a dirty look at one point. He also said he had dated Dunbarfor several months.

Saretzkyconfessed to breaking into Blanchette'sBlairmore home on Sept. 14, 2015, and killing him with a crowbar and a knife before kidnapping Hailey from her crib and taking her to a rural area.

In one of the videos recorded during after that interview, Saretzkytook investigators to a campsite about 20 minutes away from the Blanchette home that belongs to his relatives. He re-enacted how he killed Hailey, dismembered her body and performed acts of cannibalism on the toddler before burning her remains.

Police recovered hundreds of bone and tooth fragments from the ashes of the fire pit. The girl's DNA was also discovered on a toy and in a metal pot nearby.

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When Saretzkywas asked during the interrogation if he killed Meketech for practice ahead of the father and daughter slayings, he said: "Yeah."

On a notepad found in Saretzky's apartment, a handwrittenlistincluded the names; "Chy ... Terry ... the hideous baby ... Hanneh."

The lead investigator on the Hanne Meketech investigation told jurorshe was "very confused" at the beginning of the investigation.

"I didn't know why, it didn't make any sense to me why this woman was murdered," said Cpl. Brian Fitzpatrick.

He saidhe began to learn Meketech had a "fiery personality."

"Hanne wasn't going down without a fight I think she came out swinging," he said.

Hailey's DNA on Saretzky's boots

Wednesday's first witness was RCMP DNA expert Janice Lyons, who examined blood samples from several different locations relevant to the killings.

Lyons said blood samples taken from:

• Blanchette's apartment matched the victim's own DNA.
• The white van the Crown says was used in the kidnapping of Hailey matched Blanchette's DNA.
• Items at the campsite where Saretzky confessed to killing the child matched Hailey's DNA.
• A pair of cowboy boots seized from Saretzky's home matched Hailey's DNA.
• Saretzky's apartment aside from the boots matched the accused's DNA.

Jurors have been dismissed until Friday as lawyers and Court of Queen's Bench Justice WilliamTillemandeal with a legal issue, though theprosecutorPhotiniPapadatousaid she is close to closing the Crown's case.It is still not known if defence lawyer PatrickEdgertonwill call any witnesses.

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• Get the latest developments in thetrial from our reporterin the courtroom in ourblogbelow. On our mobile app?You can also see ithere.

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