Derek Saretzky murder trial: Mountie testifies accused told him Hailey's spirit 'is floating around'
Mounties were in the throes of investigating a Crowsnest Pass murder when word came in there’d been a second homicide just blocks away, court heard Wednesday.
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"I didn’t expect to walk into what I walked into," Browne told a seven-man, seven-woman Court of Queen’s Bench jury.
"I saw obvious blood staining and drag marks in the blood from the master bedroom to the main floor bathroom," Browne said.
"It was obvious in my mind this was a homicide."
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The next day, after Derek Saretzky was identified as a potential suspect, Browne learned why.
He said after a search of Saretzky’s residence, which was attached to the family business, Prestige Cleaners, the accused’s father approached saying they should speak to his son.
"Derek had said he had done something bad, he couldn’t tell his dad what it was," Browne testified.
After the father and son spoke a little more three officers approached to speak to the accused.
"Both Derek and Larry were visibly upset," Browne said.
"I asked him if he knew what happened to Hailey and he said he wasn’t able to tell me," the investigator said.
Browne said he was "pleading with him essentially" to say where the little girl was.
"He proceeded to say that we had missed seeing her," Browne said.
The officer thought Saretzky meant they oversaw her in the search of the residence until Saretzky’s next comments.
"He said she’s in Heaven, her spirit is floating around."
