LETHBRIDGE – Walking up to the house where their son was killed is not something the Blanchette family could ever be prepared for.
“We’re going through hell,” said Terry Blanchette’s mother, Faith Durban-Eiseman.
Thursday afternoon Durban-Eiseman, along with Terry’s father, Bill Blanchette, his sister-in-law and niece, came to the house where Terry was found dead Monday morning. They wanted to take care of both Terry and his daughter’s personal possessions.
After issuing an Amber Alert Monday, RCMP confirmed Tuesday night the remains of two-year-old Hailey had been found near Blairmore.
READ MORE: Timeline –Abduction of 2-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette
“I’m having trouble holding it together,” said Blanchette, as he fought back tears.
WATCH: The mother of murdered father Terry Blanchette and grandmother of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette spoke to Global News outside Terry’s home Thursday.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my whole life,” added Durban-Eiseman.
“You’re not supposed to bury your son and your granddaughter.”
The family spoke about the day Terry found out he and Cheyenne Dunbar were expecting a baby. They said he turned his life around, always putting his little girl first.
“Terry became a responsible human being,” said Durban-Eiseman. “He was a great father. He’d do anything for his girl.”
She described Hailey as quite a happy child who was very affectionate and brought joy to everyone she met.
“She came from a world of a lot of love. Everybody loved her.”
READ MORE: ‘She was my baby’ – Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette’s mother Cheyenne breaks down
Blairmore RCMP said while the investigation was resolved quickly, it didn’t end in the way they had hoped.
“We would have hoped that we could have brought Hailey back safely,” said Insp. Gibson Glavin.
He said the investigation is complex and there are still loose ends they need to tie up.
“We’ve identified some witnesses that we haven’t spoken to yet who may not have been a high priority while we were trying to locate Hailey,” explained Glavin.
“We will turn our attention to some of those lower priority issues, what we have to do to make sure that everything has been looked into in this event.”
READ MORE: Outpouring of grief over death of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette
The ongoing support across the country has meant the world to the Blanchette family, who is still looking for answers as to why someone would take both Terry and Hailey’s life.
Watch below: Continuing coverage of the investigation in the death of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father, Terry Blanchette.
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