Derek Saretzky's family breaks silence in homicides of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father

Family members of the man accused in the slayings of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father, Terry Blanchette, in the small Alberta community of Blairmore havebroken theirsilence with an emotional plea on Facebook.

Derek Saretzky's sister-in-law added apost late Wednesdaynight thatexpressedher grief,asking those on social media to be mindful of the pain she and her family are experiencing.

• Who is the man accused of murdering Alberta toddler and her father?

"My heart is in a million pieces right now, but seeing all of the things everyone is saying is extremely difficult for the family on this side of the tragedy,"wroteShannonSaretsky.

Members of the family spell their last name differently.

Court appearance scheduled

Derek Saretzky was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of indignity to a body. He is in police custody and will next appear in court in Lethbridge on Sept. 23.

RCMP confirmed the accused was an acquaintance of Terry Blanchette.

Hailey's mother, Cheyenne Dunbar, said she and Derek Saretzky were friends until about three years ago. Neighbours have said the two men didn't get along.

"You have to understand that this is extremely shocking to us and is killing us inside too because he really was never a bad guy," said Shannon Saretsky,who is married to the accused'sbrother.

The case came to the attention of the public when an Amber Alert was issued for the girl,who was abducted in the middle of the night from the home where she lived with her father.

It is believed she was taken around 3:30 a.m. MTMonday, but her father's body wasn't found until about 11 a.m. that day. The child's body was discoveredTuesday afternoon in a rural area near Blairmore.

"We have to live knowing that someone in our family was involved in causing so much pain and hurt," reads the post.

Hailey'sfamily heartbroken

Hailey's grandmother Terry-Lynn Dunbar also posted a statement on Facebook saying that her family is "forever broken."

"As a mother and (formerly) grandmother my pain is unimaginable at the loss of my only grandchild in such a horrific manner," saidCheyenne Dunbar's mother.

"The Dunbar and Blanchette Families will be forever broken," she said, adding that her "heart can't stop hurting" for Terry's parents, Faith and Bill Blanchette."

• Family of Alberta toddler in double homicide is suffering 'unimaginable pain'

For her part, Cheyenne Dunbar has said Saretzky was a "great kid" when she knew him, but says she hasn't spoken to him for three years and was never involved with him romantically.

The Dunbar family was upsetby speculation that Saretzky and their daughter wereanything more than friends.

"I'm angry about some of the things that are being splashed across the media about my daughter," said Cheyenne's father, Kevin Dunbar,on Wednesday.