The Canadian police announced on Friday that they have established a connection between the murders of two 14-year-old girls and two young women nearly 50 years ago and a now-deceased U.S. fugitive who sought refuge in Canada from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s.
Gary Allen Srery may be associated with additional unsolved homicides and sexual assaults in Western Canada, according to Supt. Dave Hall of the Alberta Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Authorities are seeking additional information that could establish a connection between Srery and other unsolved cases.
Hall stated at a press conference in Edmonton, Alberta, “We are pleased to announce that we have established a connection between a serial sexual offender who is now deceased and four previously unsolved homicides from the 1970s.”
A video was posted on social media by the police regarding the four individuals.
In 2011, while serving a life sentence for rape in a state prison in Idaho, Srery passed away.
Hall stated that Srery was identified by utilizing DNA and criminal databases to trace his family tree.
In 1976, Hall stated that Eva Dvorak and Patricia McQueen were both 14-year-olds residing in Calgary, Alberta, and attending junior high school. He stated that they were last observed walking together in downtown Calgary, and their corpses were discovered on the road beneath a highway underpass to the west of the city the following day.
In the spring of 1976, Melissa Rehorek, a 20-year-old from Ontario, relocated to Calgary in search of new opportunities. He stated that she was a housekeeper residing at the downtown YMCA in downtown Calgary at the time of her death. She was last observed by a housemate prior to her departure on a hitchhiking trip. According to Hall, her corpse was discovered in a ditch in a township located to the west of Calgary the following day.
In 1977, Hall stated that Barbara MacLean, a 19-year-old resident of Calgary from Nova Scotia, had relocated to the western region only six months prior. According to Hall, MacLean was last observed exiting a hotel bar and was employed by a local bank. He stated that her body was discovered six hours later, just outside of Calgary.
Hall stated that the authorities at the time were unable to determine the cause of death for the two 14-year-olds. However, they stated that Rehorek and MacLean’s deaths were caused by strangulation.
Hall stated that the technology to develop profile DNA did not exist at the time, despite the fact that semen was collected from all four crime scenes.
Hall stated, “If Srery were alive today, he would be 81 years old.”
In a statement obtained by the Calgary Herald, McQueen’s family said, in part: “This evil monster has caused so much pain and suffering for countless families. When he abducted our loved ones, he took a piece of each of us. We are grateful to God that he is no longer alive and cannot cause any further injury to anyone else.
According to Alberta RCMP Insp. Breanne Brown, Srery had a lengthy criminal history, which included forcible rape, kidnapping, and burglary, when he fled to Canada from California in 1974. She stated that he resided in Canada illegally until his arrest for sexual assault in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1998.
Brown stated that Srery utilized nine distinct aliases throughout his lifetime and frequently altered his appearance, residence, and vehicles. She claimed that he lived a transient lifestyle, occasionally working as a cook in Calgary from 1974 to 1979 and then in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area from 1979 until his arrest and conviction of sexual assault in New Westminster in 1998. He obtained illegal identification and social assistance through aliases he used.
According to Brown, Srery was deported to the United States in 2003. He was convicted in Idaho of sexually motivated offenses and sentenced to life in prison there.
At his sentencing in 2009, one of Srery’s victims gave emotional testimony and demanded that he look at her while she spoke in court, the Spokesman Review reported.
“You have caused me to suffer a stroke as a result of the tension and the harm you inflicted on me in that bathroom.” Are you able to comprehend me? According to the publication, she stated in court that she suffered a stroke that resulted in irreparable damage to her entire left side. “You have caused me harm, and I am irreparable.” “You must serve a life sentence, just as I am currently serving a life sentence for no offense.”
In 2011, Srery passed away while incarcerated.
“We are aware that Srery’s illicit activities were extensive, extending over decades and involving a variety of aliases and jurisdictions.” Brown stated, “The Alberta RCMP is of the opinion that there are additional victims, and we are calling on the public to help us advance S’s timeline in Canada.”
The fact that Srery appears to have had no meaningful contact with law enforcement agencies within Canada from the time he entered the country illegally in the mid-1970s until he was apprehended, charged, and convicted for the New Westminster assault in 1998 is of particular concern.
