Thomas George Svekla
Thomas George Svekla, 38, waves from the back of a police cruiser in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, May 11, 2006. (Ian Jackson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
I've always viewed this killer as a modern day Jack the Ripper, and much like old Jackie, this fucker alluded authorities for years. The only difference is that Thomas Svekla was caught. Gotta love modern technology.
The list of victims starts in 1997. However, more victims were found prior to this; Victims were discovered in 1988 and 1989. Then the killings stopped. (My guess is the killer was apprehended for a different crime and served time). In 1997, the killings started again and were consistent until 2005. Thomas Svelka was arrested in 2006.
The Killer:
Thomas George Svekla grew up in Vegreville, east of Edmonton, the youngest of seven in a violent home. He turned to drugs and alcohol early. His life of crime followed pursuit shortly thereafter. Here is a breakdown of his pathetic life:
Cara King, 22
Sept. 1, 1997: The prostitute's body was found at the edge of a canola field in Sherwood Park.
Joyce Hewitt, 22
Oct. 19, 1997: Body found at 17th Street and 89th Avenue, then a farmer's field.
Kelly Dawn Reilly, 24
Jan. 27, 2001: The prostitute's body was found behind a gravel pit in the area of Range Road 264, north of secondary Hwy 623.
Edna Bernard, 28
Sept. 23, 2002: The burned body was found in a field east of Leduc in the Range Road 245, 1.5 km north of Hwy623.
Monique Petrie, 30
Jan. 8, 2003: The frozen was found on the edge of a field south of Fort Saskatchewan in the area of Range Road 222 and Township Road 540.
Melissa Munch, 20
Jan 12, 2003: Body was discovered in a farmer's field near Range Road 220, south of Hwy 16.
Debbie Darlene Lake, 29
April 12, 2003: The skull and remains of the former prostitute were found near Hwy. 623, near Miquelon Lake Provincial Park.
Katie Sylvia Ballentyne, 40
July 7, 2003: The body of the sex-trade worker was located near Range Road 235, 15-16 km east of Leduc and just north of Township Road 500.
Rachel Liz Quinner, 19
June 11, 2004: The body of the Edmonton prostitute was found on the edge of a small wooded area northeast of Sherwood Park at Township Road 540 and Range Road 224.
Samantha Tayleen Berg, 19
Jan, 25, 2005: The snow-covered body of the teenage sex-trade worker was found in a parking lot on Edmonton's North Side. Cause of death is still unknown.
Charlene Gauld, 20
April 18, 2005: Her burned remains were found near Camrose, 70 km southeast of Edmonton. The drug addict and prostitute was waiting to get into a drug treatment program when she went missing.
Ellie May Meyer, 33
May 6, 2005: The body of the sex-trade worker is found near Sherwood Park.
(Excluded in this list is two other victims. Lack of evidence leaves these murders as unsolved, cold case files):
Georgette flint, 20
Found near Elk Island National Park, September 1988.
Bernadette Ahenakew, 22
Found near Sherwood Park, October 1989.
Although we have no way of knowing if Thomas George Svekla killed all of these whores, we can say with certainty that since his arrest in 2006, the killings have come to a halt.
Thomas George Svekla, 38, waves from the back of a police cruiser in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, May 11, 2006. (Ian Jackson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
I've always viewed this killer as a modern day Jack the Ripper, and much like old Jackie, this fucker alluded authorities for years. The only difference is that Thomas Svekla was caught. Gotta love modern technology.
The list of victims starts in 1997. However, more victims were found prior to this; Victims were discovered in 1988 and 1989. Then the killings stopped. (My guess is the killer was apprehended for a different crime and served time). In 1997, the killings started again and were consistent until 2005. Thomas Svelka was arrested in 2006.
The Killer:
Thomas George Svekla grew up in Vegreville, east of Edmonton, the youngest of seven in a violent home. He turned to drugs and alcohol early. His life of crime followed pursuit shortly thereafter. Here is a breakdown of his pathetic life:
- At 14 he pushed a schoolmate against a wall, pinning her there, and tried to strip off her clothes. She testified against him at the dangerous offender hearing.
- At 17 he got into a fight with a friend's sister. He chased her through the house, pinned her to the floor, choked her, tried to tear her pants off and rape her, but fled when he thought others would show up. He later bragged to a friend she was the first to see "the Bogeyman".
- At age 25, he was convicted of assaulting a prostitute.
- When he was 27, he abused a five year old foster girl who was under the care of his girlfriend. He once attacked her under a blanket in the living room while other foster children sat nearby watching cartoons on TV.
- He was also convicted of molesting his girlfriend's natural daughter, who was nine at the time.
- At age 36, he drove out to the bushland in Edmonton's eastern outskirts with a friend to smoke crack. There, he told police, he came across the corpse of 19-year-old prostitute Rachel Quinney. Her bug-eaten body was splayed out nude, face up, her breasts and genitals cut off. Police were suspicious but cleared him for lack of evidence.
- When he was 38, Svekla had befriended a prostitute named Theresa Innes. The 36-year-old mother of two would prowl the High Level bars, looking to sell her body to pay for drugs. Friends remembered seeing her smoke crack with Svekla. Innes' mother reported her missing in March of 2006. Svelka kept her remains in a hockey bag, claiming it contained compost worms. His sister became suspicious and opened the bag when Svelka was out. She discovered the body of Theresa Innes trussed up tightly in metal wire and coils.
- Svelka's murder trial began in 2008.
Cara King, 22
Sept. 1, 1997: The prostitute's body was found at the edge of a canola field in Sherwood Park.
Joyce Hewitt, 22
Oct. 19, 1997: Body found at 17th Street and 89th Avenue, then a farmer's field.
Kelly Dawn Reilly, 24
Jan. 27, 2001: The prostitute's body was found behind a gravel pit in the area of Range Road 264, north of secondary Hwy 623.
Edna Bernard, 28
Sept. 23, 2002: The burned body was found in a field east of Leduc in the Range Road 245, 1.5 km north of Hwy623.
Monique Petrie, 30
Jan. 8, 2003: The frozen was found on the edge of a field south of Fort Saskatchewan in the area of Range Road 222 and Township Road 540.
Melissa Munch, 20
Jan 12, 2003: Body was discovered in a farmer's field near Range Road 220, south of Hwy 16.
Debbie Darlene Lake, 29
April 12, 2003: The skull and remains of the former prostitute were found near Hwy. 623, near Miquelon Lake Provincial Park.
Katie Sylvia Ballentyne, 40
July 7, 2003: The body of the sex-trade worker was located near Range Road 235, 15-16 km east of Leduc and just north of Township Road 500.
Rachel Liz Quinner, 19
June 11, 2004: The body of the Edmonton prostitute was found on the edge of a small wooded area northeast of Sherwood Park at Township Road 540 and Range Road 224.
Samantha Tayleen Berg, 19
Jan, 25, 2005: The snow-covered body of the teenage sex-trade worker was found in a parking lot on Edmonton's North Side. Cause of death is still unknown.
Charlene Gauld, 20
April 18, 2005: Her burned remains were found near Camrose, 70 km southeast of Edmonton. The drug addict and prostitute was waiting to get into a drug treatment program when she went missing.
Ellie May Meyer, 33
May 6, 2005: The body of the sex-trade worker is found near Sherwood Park.
(Excluded in this list is two other victims. Lack of evidence leaves these murders as unsolved, cold case files):
Georgette flint, 20
Found near Elk Island National Park, September 1988.
Bernadette Ahenakew, 22
Found near Sherwood Park, October 1989.
Although we have no way of knowing if Thomas George Svekla killed all of these whores, we can say with certainty that since his arrest in 2006, the killings have come to a halt.
