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Rachel Liz Quinney, 19, was found dead June 11th, 2004.

Thomas George Svekla, 38, was charged with second-degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body.

The body of Rachel Quinney was found in a wooded area near the intersection of Township Road 540 and Range Road 224, northeast of Sherwood Park.

Formed in 2005, a joint task force known as Project KARE soon took over the investigation into her death.

The area has been termed a 'dumping ground' for murdered Edmonton prostitutes whose bodies have turned up east of the city over the last three decades.

Quinney was friends of fellow sex-trade workers Charlene Gauld and Samantha Berg.

Thomas George Svekla, charged with the death of sex-trade worker Theresa Merrie Innes in 2006, told police he had found Quinney's body while in the area with another prostitute.

On June 11th, 2006 – two years after the discovery of Quinney's body – Quinney's brother Keith Lajimodiere and his wife, Charlotte, made a trip to Frog Lake, 275 km northeast of Edmonton, to say a prayer at Rachel's graveside.

Lajimodiere admitted to the Edmonton Sun his sister's lifestyle was neither safe nor glamourous. He blamed himself and the gang lifestyle that he led.

Quinney idolised her older brother. Lajimodiere often spoke of the streets of Edmonton where he said he was "never stuck for money."

It was the lure of easy money that brought Quinney to the city.

"I never turned her away (from the life), man," said Lajimodiere, adding his sister was more than just a prostitute.

On July 5th, 2006 the Edmonton Sun carried the story of a trip made by an Edmonton police officer and a psychic to the location where Quinney was found.

On June 26th, 25-year veteran EPS Const. Wayne Fermaniuk and Alan Hatfield, a psychic and spiritual medium from Pictou Landing First Nation in Nova Scotia, set out to investigate the site.

Hatfield set up an infrared camera and audio recorder at the request of the Quinney family. Quinney's mother and sister were also present.

Fermaniuk discussed what he heard when the audio recordings were played back.

"If (the psychic) was a phoney, I wanted to expose him. But he's got me. I'm convinced."

Hatfield said along with the voices of Fermaniuk and Quinney's family, Rachel's voice could be heard on the tape. "It was clear and came in between other dialogue," he said.

"Rachel came on, and her grandmom and granddad, they came on, too."

Hatfield claimed he also captured images of "spiritual energies" around the site.

Neither Hatfield nor Fermaniuk revealed what they heard Rachel say during the hour-long session, fearing it could jeopardise police investigation.

Hatfield did say that Rachel talked about her murder. "She's very angry, very angry. She's a fighter. She didn't go down easy. She fought all the way," he told the Sun.

The visit, which Hatfield paid for himself, was the second time he visited the spot. During a half-hour session in the summer of 2005, he claims a "male spirit" was captured on tape saying the word "Tom."

Hatfield believes four people are involved in the murders of the women, with one person acting as the "dumping guy."

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said Project KARE investigators were aware of Hatfield's efforts and were reviewing his material.

"Traditional investigative technique would not say let's go out and get a psychic medium to have a seance and see what we can find out about this crime," said Oakes.

"But there have been a number of examples over the years where (information from psychics) has been fruitful."

The original 2004 Strathcona RCMP press release concerning Quinney can be viewed here.

On July 6th, 2006 the Edmonton Sun followed up their story with opinions from believers and skeptics.

"You just don't know," said JoAnn McCartney, a former vice cop who is now a member of Prostitution Awareness and Action Foundation of Edmonton (PAAFE).

"They say they'll take tips from anyone, so if that was Rachel's voice, maybe they'll take tips from her."

The Sun contacted Steven Egger, a criminologist at the University of Houston-Clear Lake who has consulted with Project KARE and has interviewed many noted serial killers.

"I'm sorry, I just don't buy it," said Egger adding psychics "can lead people astray, they can come up with real general kinds of comments that after a body is found or a missing kid is found, they can claim they were correct."

Egger said he didn't know of any cases where information from a psychic has helped police crack a case.

"I think they're charlatans, I think they take advantage of survivors or victims and I think they're out to promote themselves and sell books."

"It's hard to believe," said Rachel Quinney's sister-in-law Charlotte Lajimodiere, who did not accompany Hatfield and Delia Quinney at the hour-long session.

"I just really have a hard time following it. I'd have to be there and see it myself."

Kate Quinn, executive director of PAAFE, said investigators have to remain open-minded.

"Any murder investigation is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We know that complex murders are often solved when a series of small little clues adds up to a big break."

On January 2nd, 2007 RCMP announced they laid charges of second-degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body against Thomas George Svekla in connection with the death of Rachel Liz Quinney.

Thomas George Svekla - Edmonton Journal photograph

In May 2006 the Edmonton Sun reported that Svekla claimed to have discovered Quinney's dead body.

The Sun's Andrew Hanon said Svekla told him he'd taken a prostitute to a remote area northeast of Sherwood Park to do drugs. For some reason, the prostitute bolted from his pick-up. Svekla gave chase and they came across Quinney's body.

Svekla claimed he waited two days before reporting the body to police and had asked Hanon's help in clearing his name. Svekla told the reporter late in 2004 that Project KARE had placed him under a microscope.

Svekla was charged in May 2006 with the murder of Theresa Merrie Innes.

On February 19th, 2008 the double-murder trial of Thomas George Svekla began in an Edmonton courtroom.

deadmonton 2004 - rachel liz quinney