Alberta RCMP say 2 B.C. cases may match serial killer's method
In May, Alberta RCMP linked Gary Allen Srery to 4 unsolved homicides in Calgary
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
One month after Alberta RCMP linked four unsolved homicides to a now-dead serial killer and repeat sexual offender, they say two historical cases in B.C. may also match the man's method.
In May, the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit linked Gary Allen Srery to the deaths of four young women in Calgary in the 1970s. Srery died in an Idaho state prison in 2011 while serving a sentence for violent sexual crimes. Now, police believe he may be linked to more unsolved murders.
"We truly believe that there are more victims that he's responsible for," Staff Sgt. Travis McKenzie, the head of the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit, said. "We do have some files identified that certainly seem to match how he seemed to operate when he was committing criminal acts."
McKenzie said police are trying to build a timeline of where Srery went.
Police believe Srery arrived illegally in Canada in 1974 or 1975 after posting bail for a rape charge in California. He surfaced in Calgary in 1976.
That February, Eva Dvorak and Patricia McQueen, both 14-year-old junior high school students, were found dead under the Happy Valley Overpass on Highway 1, just west of the city.
Later that same year, Melissa Rehorek, 20, left her home to hitchhike from Calgary. The next day, she was found dead along Township Road 252, about 22 kilometres west of the city.
The following year, 19-year-old bank employee Barbara MacLean went to the Highlander Hotel bar in Calgary with some friends. She was last seen walking away from the hotel alone. A dog walker found her body less than six hours later, near Sixth Street and 80 Avenue Northeast.
Police said they found semen at all three scenes and that Rehorek and MacLean died after being strangled.
At the time, police did not have the technology to analyze Srery's DNA profile. Since then, McKenzie said, police have used exhibits from the cases to build a DNA profile linking Srery to all four deaths using a technique called forensic investigative genetic genealogy
Steen Hartsen, a forensic science instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, said the technique runs a suspect's DNA from a crime scene against a database, and identifies relatives of the person who left genetic information at a crime scene.
"It's really useful to use this type of a tool when you don't have a lot of other leads," Hartsen said.
Police believe Srery headed to Vancouver sometime around 1980. They say he lived in Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Valley until he was deported to the United States in 2003.
McKenzie said police are "keeping a close eye" on two cases in southwestern B.C. that match Srery's modus operandi, or method of murder. They are investigating cases in the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast.
While in Canada, Srery used aliases, including Willy Blackman and Rex Long. McKenzie says Srery worked odd jobs while in British Columbia and claimed to work both as a cook and for B.C. Ferries.
Police are asking anyone who recognizes Srery or has encountered one of his aliases to contact the Alberta RCMP. Since first asking for tips in May, McKenzie said the RCMP has received more than 50 tips from Alberta, B.C. and the United States.
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With files from Ali Pitargue