Murder trial hears victim 'so happy' moving into first home in 12 years a week before death
Christopher Dunlop killed Laura Furlan in 2009. He's now on trial, accused of murdering Judy Maerz
Six days before she was viciously killed, Judy Maerz bought second-hand furniture from the Women in Need Society in preparation for the end of a 12-year stretch of sofa-surfing.
"She was really happy," said Tom Reilly, who described 58-year-old Maerz as his "best friend."
Reilly testified Monday on Day 4 of Christopher Dunlop's first-degree murder trial.
Dunlop is accused of picking Maerz up in the early morning hours of Feb. 16, 2023, and stabbing her 79 times before setting her body on fire in the Deerfoot Athletic Park.
Maerz 'liked to dance'
Police found what was later determined to be Dunlop's blood near Maerz's body.
At the time of Maerz's death, Dunlop had recently finished serving a 13-year sentence in the homicide of Laura Furlan, a woman he'd picked up for sex in 2009.
In his manslaughter plea, Dunlop admitted to choking Furlan and then dumping her body in Fish Creek Park. He later told undercover police that he'd set out to kill someone "who wouldn't be missed" and who he could "f–k up."
In his testimony on Monday, Reilly described his friend as "jovial, fun" and someone who "liked to dance."
She also struggled with addiction, said Reilly. Sometimes working as a prostitute to make ends meet and fund her drug habit.
Sparse apartment
Through Home Space, an organization that connects vulnerable Calgarians with low-income housing, Maerz had signed a lease on an apartment in the southwest community of Bankview.
Reilly testified that it was the first time since he'd met her 12 years earlier that Maerz had her own place. Otherwise she'd been bouncing around, often couch-surfing or living with a friend.
Photos taken of Maerz's apartment two days after her death show a sparse space.
Bedsheets covered the windows, there was no art on the walls and the little furniture she did have was mismatched, having been picked up from the Women in Need Society (WINS) six days before her death.
Reilly had helped Maerz pick up those items. They later hung out and watched a movie.
Eggs and tea
The last time he saw Maerz, it was a day or two before her death. Reilly said Maerz made him tea and eggs before he headed out for the day.
"She was really happy; she had her place, she had the chance to cook for me, she was really happy," he told Court of King's Bench Justice Colin Feasby.
Another close friend of Maerz's testified Monday.
Brian Sproul said he and Maerz met outside a bar one night in November 2022. At the time, Maerz "seemed to be struggling," said Sproul.
"I knew where she was coming from," said Sproul, who testified he was "feeling her anguish, her pain."
'She had nothing'
Sproul had been sleeping in his living room so he told Maerz she could move into the bedroom.
The two became friends.
About a week before her death, Maerz moved into that southwest apartment. Sproul helped her load her cupboards with food. "She had nothing," he said.
She loved her new place but it was far from Sproul and the Forest Lawn sex stroll where she sometimes worked.
On the night of Wednesday, Feb. 15, Maerz called Sproul, asking if she could come over to hang out.
"I thought maybe she was lonely," said Sproul.
'The last time I saw her'
Maerz took the bus over. The pair hung out, did some drugs, and around 12:30 a.m., now Feb. 16, Maerz decided to head home.
Worried she'd miss the last bus, Sproul offered for her to stay in her old room.
"She said, 'Maybe I will,'" said Sproul. "A couple minutes later, she said, 'Nah, I'm going to go.'"
"I gave her a quick hug, 'OK, bye' … That was the last time I saw her."
Maerz left that night wearing a white down-filled winter coat Sproul had given her for Christmas seven weeks earlier.
"She loved it. She was very happy with it when I gave it to her, she wore it all the time," he said.