Victim strangled before body dumped in 2021 homicide

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 29, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

It was a long drive from Kelowna, B.C. to Alberta, so when Melissa Martens-Lagasse and her friend Megan Eekma reached Fort Macleod on Nov. 18, 2021 and waited for Martens-Lagasse’s mother to arrive from Medicine Hat, Eekma fell asleep. While she slept, Martens-Lagasse wrapped a rope around her 34-year-old friend’s neck and strangled her to death.

Martens-Lagasse, 27, pleaded not guilty last April to a charge of first-degree murder and elected to be tried by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge and jury, but this week during a hearing in Court of King’s Bench she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and the matter was adjourned to schedule a date for sentencing.

Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown Prosecutor Kristi Adams said the two women were working in Kelowna but made a spur-of-the-moment decision to leave and return to Alberta, where they both lived previously.

“They felt that the house they were residing in was too volatile and they wanted to get out,” Adams said.

When they arrived in Fort Macleod on the morning of Nov. 18, they had run out of gas, and Martens-Lagasse called her mother, Amanda Martens, and said they were on their way to Medicine Hat but had car trouble. Martens said Eekma could not stay at her house, but she agreed to drive to Fort Macleod and pick up her daughter.

Martens-Lagasse said she would give Eekma the car and she could go where ever she wanted.

“While the accused and Eekma were waiting at the gas station in Fort Macleod, Eekma fell asleep,” Adams said. “The accused climbed in the back seat of the white Chrysler Neon, she put a rope around the neck of Eekma and pulled until she was dead. She then piled a bunch of their belongings from the car over top of the now deceased Eekma and waited for Martens.”

When Martens and her boyfriend arrived in Fort Macleod at about 3 p.m., Martens-Lagasse was sitting in the car. Martens noticed the car was full of suitcases and clothes, and her daughter said Eekma’s body was in the car. Martens dismissed the comment, however, because her daughter was known to say strange things in the past.

After both vehicles were gassed up, Martens-Lagasse said she needed to get rid of some evidence. Her mother thought she was talking about drugs or a gun and didn’t ask any questions.

“The accused drove west towards Pincher Creek, where she dumped Eekma’s body on the side of the road 27 kilometres southeast of Pincher Creek. She then threw the rope which she had used to strangle Eekma out the window while driving away from the Pincher Creek area heading east to go to Medicine Hat.”

The following day, while at her mother’s home in Medicine Hat, Martens-Lagasse admitted killing Eekma.

“She further stated to Martens that Eekma was annoying, was smelly and she hated Eekma for sleeping with her boyfriend, Shan. The accused told Martens that she used a rope to strangle Eekma, that ‘it wasn’t that bad’ and she ‘did it until there was no life in her.’ The accused further told Martens that she had put Eekma’s body in a ditch and that she noticed that Eekma’s eyes had remained open and that bothered her.”

Adams said Martens thought her daughter was under the influence of drugs and didn’t believe her story.

At about 8 a.m. that same day, a woman was driving on Highway 505 southeast of Pincher Creek and stopped at an intersection. She noticed Eekma’s body lying in a ditch and called 911.

During the following weekend Martens read social media posts about the discovery of Eekma’s body and questioned her daughter. Martens-Lagasse repeated her earlier story.

On the morning of Nov. 23 Martens called 911 in Medicine Hat and told police her daughter had admitted killing Eekma. Police also learned Martens-Lagasse had outstanding warrants for her arrest out of Ponoka and Calgary, and when they arrived at Martens’ home, they arrested her daughter on the warrants and later for the murder of Eekma, as well as for interfering with a dead body.

While police were at Martens’ residence, a tow truck arrived and the driver said he had received a call from Martens-Lagasse earlier that morning asking that he take the car she had driven from B.C. to a crusher.

In addition to the agreed statement of facts that was read in court, nine victim impact statements written by members of Eekma’s family were also read.

The matter is scheduled to return to court in November to schedule a date for sentencing. In the meantime a Gladue report will be prepared to provide the judge information about Martens-Lagasse’s personal circumstances and aboriginal background to help determine a fit sentence.

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