Crown seeks first-degree murder conviction against Calgary man in 'grotesque' killing of woman
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In seeking a first-degree murder conviction against Dunlop, Crown prosecutor Greg Piper said the evidence points to no other conclusion.
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Piper noted Maerz had defensive wounds on her hands and arms and Dunlop likely cut himself in the brutal attack in a northeast Calgary athletic park, which he described as a 'grotesque … overkilling.'
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Blood found in the snow near Maerz's torched remains, initially thought to be hers, came back first as being male and a later DNA analysis determined it was Dunlop's.
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'In the attack it turned into a fight, or a struggle,' Piper told Justice Colin Feasby.
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'What we're asking you to find is Ms. Maerz fought for her life and in that process Mr. Dunlop was cut.'
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The prosecutor said video footage of Dunlop at a pet store the afternoon of Feb. 15, 2023, the day before Maerz's body was found in the Deerfoot Athletic Park showed his right index finger was fine.
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But CCTV surveillance from the following afternoon captured Dunlop with a blood-stained wrap around that same digit, Piper said.
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He told Feasby the logical inference was the blood stain found near Maerz's body was Dunlop's and it was deposited during the killing.
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Dunlop, who previously served the equivalent of a 13-year sentence for manslaughter in the 2009 killing of sex-trade worker Laura Furlan, faces Feb. 16, 2023, charges of murder and causing and indignity to a body for setting the victim's remains on fire.
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Piper said scratches on Dunlop's arm noted after his March 1, arrest were also consistent with the victim fighting for her life.
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'Male DNA was on her fingernails,' Piper said, noting not in sufficient quantity to create a scientific profile.
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Piper also said CCTV footage entered into evidence during his and co-prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee's case should lead to the conclusion Dunlop picked up Maerz on the Forest Lawn stroll on 19th Avenue S.E. in his wife's Rav4 and took her to the park off 8th Avenue N.E.
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He said while surveillance evidence can have its drawbacks 'it is an objective, silent, disproportionate observer.'
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Among the pieces of video evidence introduced in the case was CCTV footage from a Peter Lougheed Centre parking lot where Dunlop's wife had parked her SUV.
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