Svekla confessed to killing woman: cellmate witness

Accused killer Thomas Svekla leaned over to his cellmate one night in 2006 and asked if he wanted to hear a "horror story," then proceeded to talk about killing a prostitute, amurder trial in Edmonton heard Tuesday.

Lawyers read from the transcript of a taped interviewin whichJustin Delorme told police about a conversation he had with Svekla in their cell in High Level, Alta., in May 2006.

Delorme, who describedhimself as a drug dealer,recalled that Svekla asked, "You wanna hear a horror story?" andbegan telling him how he killed a prostitute in Strathcona County, east of Edmonton.

Delorme said Svekla describedhow he brought another girl to the same area who he also planned to kill, saying he was going to "do her." The cellmate said Svekla told him he abandoned the plan when he tripped over the first woman's body.

Svekla pointed to cellmate as suspect

In the trial being heard by judge alone, Delorme testified Tuesday in Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench that he didn't remember his conversations with Svekla, but admitted he told the truth in the interview taped a month after the alleged jailhouse conversation.

Svekla is accused of killing Rachel Quinney, 19, who was found in a field outside Edmonton, and Theresa Innes, 36, whose remains were found in a hockey bag belonging to Svekla. Both women were struggling with drug addictions and worked in the sex trade.

Under cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed police brought Delorme in for questioning because Svekla suggested his former cellmate might have been involved in Innes's death.

The trial heard that in the taped interview, RCMP officers asked Delormeseveral times if he was responsible for Innes's death. He denied that, then proceeded to tell them about the conversation he'd had with Svekla.

Trial also hears from other prison witnesses

A prison guard from the Edmonton Institution also testified Tuesday, recounting a conversation he monitored between Svekla and another inmate, Jerry Wetherelt, in January 2007.

Reading from his notes, Mike Mah said Wetherelt asked Svekla, "Did you do it?" referring to Quinney's death.

Svekla told Wetherelt he had "just moved" and hid Quinney's body, and that the stories about him weren't true, said Mah.

Wetherelt then took the stand, testifying that Svekla told him one of the victims overdosed on drugs, so he put her in a bag and drove to Edmonton.

"He didn't say he killed anyone,"Wetherelt said.

Mah's and Wetherelt's testimony was heard in voir dire, which means Justice Sterling Sanderman must decide on whether to accepttheir statements as evidence.