Accused's sister found human remains in hockey bag
Affidavit reveals new details in deaths of 2 prostitutes
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 | 11:07 AM MT
CBC News
An Alberta man accused of killing two prostitutes lied to his family about a hockey bag that turned out to hold human remains, according to a new court document.
A police affidavit, released by a judge Monday, stated Thomas Svekla admitted to police he knew there was a body in the hockey bag he was transporting 700 kilometres from High Level to Fort Saskatchewan, both in Alberta, but said "someone" else had left it there.
Thomas Svekla is escorted by police after a court appearance.
(CBC)
The document also reveals Svekla told a friend and then his family in May 2006 that the bag was full of compost worms.
But Svekla's sister became suspicious and opened the heavy duffel bag, finding the remains of Theresa Innes wrapped in an air mattress, shower curtain and wire.
Investigators believe she was killed in the northern Alberta town of High Level.
Svekla is charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Innes, 36, and Rachel Quinney, 19. Both women worked as sex-trade workers in the Edmonton area.
Quinney's mutilated body was found in a field east of Edmonton in 2004.
The affidavit says Svekla told police he found Quinney's body in Strathcona County, while he was smoking crack with another prostitute.
Police used the affidavit during their investigation last year to get permission for a wiretap. A judge will decide Tuesday if the information resulting from that wiretap can be admitted as evidence.
Svekla is the first person to be charged by Project Kare, an RCMP task force investigating the deaths and disappearances of dozens of women who worked in the sex trade.
Share Tools
Latest Edmonton News Headlines
- Police chief apologizes to former employee over racism
- Edmonton's chief of police has apologized to one of the department's former employees who says the racist behaviour of her boss and colleagues forced her to leave her job. more »
- Edmonton trustees named marshals of gay pride parade

- Trustees from the Edmonton Public School Board will be the honorary marshals at this year's gay pride parade. more »
- ATV collision kills teen near Hinton
- An 18-year-old male died Thursday after he was thrown from his all-terrain vehicle near Hinton. more »
- Alberta readies 60 new ambulances for service
- Around 60 new ambulances will soon be whizzing across the province thanks to a large purchase by Alberta Health Services. more »
Top News Headlines
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges

- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- Severe storm in Quebec leaves damage in its wake
- Trees were uprooted, roofs damaged and windows shattered as severe thunderstorms, and possibly a tornado, rattled through southwestern Quebec Friday night. more »
- The risks and responsibilities of taking on Mt. Everest

- The deaths of five climbers last weekend on Mt. Everest, with more summits underway this weekend, fuels the debate about the risks and responsibilities of high altitude climbing. more »
- Pope's butler arrested in Vatican leaks scandal
- The Vatican has confirmed that the Pope's butler was arrested earlier in the week in connection with an embarrassing document leaks scandal. more »
- Former MLA questions need for Alberta Party
- Police chief apologizes to former employee over racism
- ATV collision kills teen near Hinton
- Edmonton trustees named marshals of gay pride parade
- Oil spill clean-up underway in northern Alberta
- Alberta readies 60 new ambulances for service
- Edmonton toddler killed by SUV in parking lot
- Hobbema youth dispel stereotypes with photography
- Garlic mustard spreading in Mill Creek Ravine
Thomas Svekla is escorted by police after a court appearance.
