Post by hi224 on Aug 6, 2020 21:26:06 GMT
Melodie was a 19-year-old woman living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton is Alberta's capital city and lies roughly in the centre of the province and is mostly known for being home to the largest shopping mall in North America, among other things.
At the time of her murder, Melodie was a petite 5'2'' and 100 lbs and had gone by the nickname 'Tasha.' She was last seen the day before she was found murdered in the area of 107 Street and 102 Avenue; wearing a purple leather jacket, a blue and black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white boots. A picture of Melodie can be seen here: www.edmontonpolice.ca/-/media/EPS%20External/Images/Crime%20Files/Homicide/Historical/REIGELMelodie.ashx?h=1010&la=en&w=800&hash=F87E4A90C63C678208DC5C69F2D5C2F75F5E0518
On September 21, 1986 at 12:30 PM, Melodie was found dead inside room #302 of the Pan American Motel, by one of the maids. An autopsy later found that she had died from strangulation. The hotel has since closed, but the location of the hotel can be seen here: goo.gl/maps/6aK8dQHLFQ5DourH7
Investigations discovered that the room she was found in was registered under the name "Bruce Stevens" from Grande Prairie, a small city over 4 hours northwest of Edmonton. The man checked into room #302 at 11:00 PM on the night that Melodie was killed. This name is considered to be fictitious by police and has not revealed any leads. The press at the time speculated that the crime occured after a "bad date," likely implying that Melodie was a prostitute, but I have not seen this fact officially mentioned by police, perhaps to avoid the prejudice around sex workers.
One (older looking) website I found speculates that Melodie was murdered by Thomas Svekla. Melodie is included in a long list of prostitutes who went missing mysteriously or who were found murdered around Alberta. This website is in my sources.
In 2010, Svekla, a one-time mechanic, was ruled to remain in prison indefinitely due to his criminal behaviour. He has a long track record of raping, assaulting and murdering multiple women and girls; especially prostitutes, and has proudly declared himself to be a serial killer.
However, I don't know how reliable this source is as it seems to have a few incorrect details and doesn't seem to have a lot of sources. Additionally, the police file has remained open, so the police may not be sold on this theory. Police reopened the cold case in 2011, on the 25th anniversary of Melodie's death.
So what happened to Melodie on the night of September 21, 1986? Was she another unfortunate victim of Thomas Svekla? Have the police simply been unable to confirm her as one of his victims?
Sources
Official EPS file: www.edmontonpolice.ca/CrimeFiles/Homicides/1980/REIGELMelodie
2011 CBC article: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-police-re-open-25-year-old-killing-1.1064777
2011 Edmonton Journal article: www.pressreader.com/canada/edmonton-journal/20110922/282694748892552
2011 CTV article: edmonton.ctvnews.ca/police-looking-for-information-on-historic-homicide-1.700534
Alleged victims of Svekla: www.primetimecrime.com/Recent/Murder/murder_Edmonton_Serial.htm
2010 CTV article, Svekla: www.ctvnews.ca/sex-killer-thomas-svekla-locked-up-indefinitely-1.516309
At the time of her murder, Melodie was a petite 5'2'' and 100 lbs and had gone by the nickname 'Tasha.' She was last seen the day before she was found murdered in the area of 107 Street and 102 Avenue; wearing a purple leather jacket, a blue and black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and white boots. A picture of Melodie can be seen here: www.edmontonpolice.ca/-/media/EPS%20External/Images/Crime%20Files/Homicide/Historical/REIGELMelodie.ashx?h=1010&la=en&w=800&hash=F87E4A90C63C678208DC5C69F2D5C2F75F5E0518
On September 21, 1986 at 12:30 PM, Melodie was found dead inside room #302 of the Pan American Motel, by one of the maids. An autopsy later found that she had died from strangulation. The hotel has since closed, but the location of the hotel can be seen here: goo.gl/maps/6aK8dQHLFQ5DourH7
Investigations discovered that the room she was found in was registered under the name "Bruce Stevens" from Grande Prairie, a small city over 4 hours northwest of Edmonton. The man checked into room #302 at 11:00 PM on the night that Melodie was killed. This name is considered to be fictitious by police and has not revealed any leads. The press at the time speculated that the crime occured after a "bad date," likely implying that Melodie was a prostitute, but I have not seen this fact officially mentioned by police, perhaps to avoid the prejudice around sex workers.
One (older looking) website I found speculates that Melodie was murdered by Thomas Svekla. Melodie is included in a long list of prostitutes who went missing mysteriously or who were found murdered around Alberta. This website is in my sources.
In 2010, Svekla, a one-time mechanic, was ruled to remain in prison indefinitely due to his criminal behaviour. He has a long track record of raping, assaulting and murdering multiple women and girls; especially prostitutes, and has proudly declared himself to be a serial killer.
However, I don't know how reliable this source is as it seems to have a few incorrect details and doesn't seem to have a lot of sources. Additionally, the police file has remained open, so the police may not be sold on this theory. Police reopened the cold case in 2011, on the 25th anniversary of Melodie's death.
So what happened to Melodie on the night of September 21, 1986? Was she another unfortunate victim of Thomas Svekla? Have the police simply been unable to confirm her as one of his victims?
Sources
Official EPS file: www.edmontonpolice.ca/CrimeFiles/Homicides/1980/REIGELMelodie
2011 CBC article: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-police-re-open-25-year-old-killing-1.1064777
2011 Edmonton Journal article: www.pressreader.com/canada/edmonton-journal/20110922/282694748892552
2011 CTV article: edmonton.ctvnews.ca/police-looking-for-information-on-historic-homicide-1.700534
Alleged victims of Svekla: www.primetimecrime.com/Recent/Murder/murder_Edmonton_Serial.htm
2010 CTV article, Svekla: www.ctvnews.ca/sex-killer-thomas-svekla-locked-up-indefinitely-1.516309