EDMONTON — Cheyenne Dunbar, the young mother of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, said she has no idea why someone would want to harm her daughter.
“She was smart, beautiful, the greatest child ever,” said Dunbar. “She never cried. She was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
On Tuesday, RCMP confirmed 27-year-old Terry Blanchette was found dead in his family home in Blairmore, Alta. On Tuesday night, officers said Hailey’s body was found in a rural area near Blairmore.
WATCH: Few details available but suspect Derek Saretzky and Hailey’s mother knew each other
READ MORE: Remains of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette found; Amber Alert dropped
“I don’t know why anybody would do that to her,” Dunbar said, collapsing in tears.
“I don’t know why. I really don’t.”
The 20-year-old said she and Blanchette were in a relationship and lived together for some time before breaking up, but they still tried to make things work for the sake of their daughter.
“Terry was an awesome father,” she said. “He did everything he could for that little girl.”
Dunbar said the two weren’t together but were still on good terms and communicated often, mostly about Hailey.
WATCH: Mother describes her relationship with Hailey’s ‘awesome’ father
She said she found out about the Amber Alert for her daughter on Facebook. Within an hour, she said, she was on the phone with police.
“It was heartbreaking that I had no clue what was going on. I had no clue she was missing. I had no clue what happened to her father.”
TIMELINE: Abduction of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette
Dunbar said she’s being supported by loved ones, but that nothing will make her feel any better right now.
“I’m going to miss absolutely everything. I’m going to miss her smile, the way she ran around saying ‘mommy’… She was my baby. I don’t know why anyone would do this to her.”
WATCH: The mother of deceased two-year-old Haily Dunbar-Blanchette broke down in tears Wednesday while trying to tell reporters what she’ll miss about her little girl
A 22-year-old Alberta man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two-year-old Hailey and Blanchette.
The RCMP believe Derek Saretzky planned the murders of Hailey and her father. Police said Saretzky was an acquaintance of Blanchette.
READ MORE: What we know about Derek Saretzky
“We’re still exploring those connections, but at this point and time they were known to each other. That’s about all we can say to protect the investigative process,” said Insp. Derek Williams, Alberta RCMP Major Crimes.
Saretzky was also charged with one count of committing an indignity to a human body. RCMP said he was arrested Tuesday in the Blairmore area without incident. He’s scheduled to appear in Lethbridge Provincial Court on Sept. 23.
When it comes to her relationship with Saretzky, Dunbar said they were good friends years ago.
“It tears me apart knowing friends would do something like that,” she said, adding she hadn’t spoken to Saretzky in three years.
Dunbar said she wasn’t aware of any relationship between Saretzky and Blanchette.
“I didn’t even know they knew each other.”
RCMP would not elaborate on the possible connection between the two men.
Cheyenne’s father, Kevin Dunbar, said he didn’t know Saretzky.
“There was no connection, sexually or otherwise, between her and Derek,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “That’s not what’s going on.”
Hailey’s grandfather said he was trying to “forget” Blairmore ever since he moved the family away.
“It’s terrible, all the kids out here are into drugs and just being bad kids, and it was having an effect on my kids,” he said. “We needed to move.”
Dunbar said he would miss the fun he had with Hailey, remembering her smile and the way she called him “Papa.” He said he was in Edmonton three weeks ago and took Hailey and Cheyenne out for the day.
“We went swimming, we did everything that a family would like to do and we were hoping to do that again,” he said. “But I guess that’s not going to happen now.”
Watch below: Kevin Dunbar, father of Cheyenne, spoke fondly of his granddaughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, in Blairmore Wednesday.
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