Suspect in prostitute killing appears in court
CTV.ca, Canada
An Alberta man charged with killing an Edmonton prostitute smiled to reporters Thursday before entering a provincial court.
Police accuse Thomas George Svekla, of High Level, Alta., of killing 36-year-old Theresa Merrie Innes and using a hockey bag to transport her remains.
Police found Innes's body Sunday in Fort Saskatchewan, on the outskirts of Edmonton. She had been missing since last August, and was last seen 700 kilometres away in High Level in northern Alberta.
Inside the courtroom, Svekla, 38, looked upwards as his charges were read: second-degree murder and interfering with a dead body.
When he again met reporters outside the building, he raised a finger to his lips and motioned for them to be quiet.
Given the intense media coverage, Svekla's defence lawyer, Laura Stevens cautioned reporters to use restraint.
The lawyer's warning comes on the same day Edmonton Sun columnist and night city editor Andrew Hanon reported that Svekla contacted him in 2004, while Hanon worked as a reporter.
Svekla allegedly said the RCMP wrongfully considered him to be a person of interest in the disappearance of Rachel Quinney, a prostitute found dead outside Edmonton the same year.
"He asked me if I could help clear his name," Hanon told The Canadian Press.
Svekla is the first arrest connected to Project Kare, a police task force that investigates the deaths of "high risk missing persons," notably women involved in the sex trade.
The RCMP said Wednesday that Svekla has not been charged in the deaths or disappearances of any other prostitutes, and no connections should be made.
May 12, 2006
CTV.ca, Canada
An Alberta man charged with killing an Edmonton prostitute smiled to reporters Thursday before entering a provincial court.
Police accuse Thomas George Svekla, of High Level, Alta., of killing 36-year-old Theresa Merrie Innes and using a hockey bag to transport her remains.
Police found Innes's body Sunday in Fort Saskatchewan, on the outskirts of Edmonton. She had been missing since last August, and was last seen 700 kilometres away in High Level in northern Alberta.
Inside the courtroom, Svekla, 38, looked upwards as his charges were read: second-degree murder and interfering with a dead body.
When he again met reporters outside the building, he raised a finger to his lips and motioned for them to be quiet.
Given the intense media coverage, Svekla's defence lawyer, Laura Stevens cautioned reporters to use restraint.
The lawyer's warning comes on the same day Edmonton Sun columnist and night city editor Andrew Hanon reported that Svekla contacted him in 2004, while Hanon worked as a reporter.
Svekla allegedly said the RCMP wrongfully considered him to be a person of interest in the disappearance of Rachel Quinney, a prostitute found dead outside Edmonton the same year.
"He asked me if I could help clear his name," Hanon told The Canadian Press.
Svekla is the first arrest connected to Project Kare, a police task force that investigates the deaths of "high risk missing persons," notably women involved in the sex trade.
The RCMP said Wednesday that Svekla has not been charged in the deaths or disappearances of any other prostitutes, and no connections should be made.
May 12, 2006
