Rachel Quinney

Rachel Liz Quinney was known for her smile, her love of laughter, and for speaking her mind. A mother to two young toddlers, the 19-year-old Indigenous woman also loved to dance and sing. Her life, however, had taken a difficult turn, and she was working in the sex trade on the streets of Edmonton, Alberta, using the name Candace. Her life was cut short in the spring of 2004, leaving her family with unanswered questions and a case that remains officially unsolved.

Rachel was last seen on May 28, 2004, along 118th Avenue, an area in Edmonton known for sex work. Two weeks later, on June 11, her body was discovered in a wooded area northeast of the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park. The scene was a clearing littered with old lumber, tires, and vehicle parts. A sometime auto mechanic named Thomas Svekla led Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers to the location, claiming he and another woman had stumbled upon the remains while there to smoke crack cocaine. He told police he waited a week to report it for fear of becoming a suspect.

Rachel’s body was found naked, badly decomposed, and mutilated. An autopsy later revealed that her breasts and genitals had been removed after her death. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the chief medical examiner could not determine a definitive cause of death. While toxicology reports showed a potentially lethal level of cocaine in her system, the examiner could not rule out other possibilities, such as smothering, though no physical evidence supported it. The death was immediately treated as a homicide.

The investigation was handled by the RCMP and Project KARE, a task force created to investigate the growing number of missing and murdered women, many from high-risk lifestyles, in the Edmonton area. Suspicion fell on Thomas Svekla, who had a lengthy criminal record that included assaults on women and girls. Investigators took a DNA sample and gave him a polygraph test, but he was initially released. The case gained new momentum in May 2006, when the body of another woman, 36-year-old Theresa Innes, was found stuffed in a hockey bag belonging to Svekla at his sister's home in Fort Saskatchewan.

In January 2007, Svekla was charged with second-degree murder and offering an indignity to human remains in Rachel Quinney’s death, in addition to the charges he already faced for the murder of Theresa Innes. During his trial in 2008, the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence, but no witness could place Svekla with Rachel during her final moments, nor could they explain why he led police to her body. A witness testified that Svekla had once been home with a woman he believed was Rachel, but his account was challenged on cross-examination. Ultimately, while Svekla was convicted of the second-degree murder of Theresa Innes, the judge acquitted him of all charges related to Rachel Quinney, citing a lack of evidence to connect him to the crime.

Rachel’s death was one of many that drew attention to the violence faced by vulnerable women in the Edmonton area, a crisis that led one friend to help organize the first Annual Memorial March for all the Missing and Murdered Women of Edmonton in 2006. The march continues to be a way for families to remember their loved ones with dignity. During the trial, Rachel's family expressed their frustration and pain, particularly after her brother was banned from the courtroom for allegedly making a threatening gesture toward Svekla, who they said was laughing at them.

As of May 2024, Rachel Quinney's homicide remains unsolved. Following Thomas Svekla's acquittal, no new charges have been laid. The RCMP continues to seek information from the public that could bring justice for Rachel and her family. Anyone with information regarding the murder of Rachel Quinney is asked to contact the RCMP at (780) 412-5424 or to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.