Two-time killer who targeted Calgary street sex workers to be sentenced

A Calgary man who's now killed two women who worked in the city's sex trade will be handed a life sentence today, 16 years after he strangled his first victim. 

Earlier this month, Christopher Dunlop, 50, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2023 death of Judy Maerz, 58. 

Dunlop had recently finished serving his 13-year manslaughter sentence for strangling Laura Furlan when he stabbed Maerz 79 times and then set her body on fire.

At the time of her death, Maerz was living a vulnerable lifestyle. She struggled with drug addiction and poverty but had managed to secure an apartment. It was her first home in 12 years. 

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The night she was killed, Maerz spent time with a friend before she headed out to the Forest Lawn stroll.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 16, 2023, Dunlop picked her up, drove her to the Deerfoot Athletic Park and attacked her. 

After fatally stabbing Maerz and slitting her throat, Dunlop doused her body in gasoline and set it on fire. 

But while he attempted to destroy DNA evidence left on Maerz's body, Dunlop left some behind. 

The evidence presented at trial suggested Maerz "fought for her life," according to prosecutors Hyatt Mograbee and Greg Piper. 

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In the course of the struggle, Dunlop cut his hand. 

His blood, left in the melting snow, ultimately led police to arrest the two-time killer. 

Comments made by Dunlop to undercover police officers during the Furlan investigation help to explain his choice of victims. 

Dunlop told undercover officers that on the night he killed Furlan, he'd set out to kill someone "who wouldn't be missed." 

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When Dunlop went looking for his second victim years later, he likely thought the same thing. 

Court of King's Bench Justice Colin Feasby noted in his conviction decision that Dunlop likely believed police wouldn't thoroughly investigate the murder of a street sex worker.

Dunlop was wrong. 

He now faces life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.