Family members of a man charged with the murders of a two-year-old Alberta girl and her father are addressing the incident on Facebook.

Derek Saretzky, 22, was arrested on Tuesday and has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of indignity to a body in relation to the little girl’s death.

The charges were laid after Terry Blanchette was found dead in a Blairmore, Alta., home on Monday and his baby daughter Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was later found dead.

The sister-in-law of the accused, Shannon Saretsky, addressed the allegations on Facebook Thursday.

Saretsky wrote that she is “not defending anything,” and added, “but seeing all of the things everyone is saying is extremely difficult for the family on this side of the tragedy.”

“You have to understand that this is extremely shocking to us and is killing us inside too because he really was never a bad guy,” Saretsky wrote.

“Again, I'm not defending anything he's been charged for, but it's still a very difficult situation for everyone involved,” she added.

“Please try to remember that we probably feel worse than ANYONE else toward the other family for everything that has happened,” she wrote.

Another family member issued a brief statement on Facebook that said, “I cannot tell you how sad we feel: shocked, sad, embarrassed, devastated, numb, heartbroken… hurting for the victims and families.”

Hailey’s mother Cheyenne Dunbar, 20, said Wednesday that she used to be “great friends” with Saretsky, but that the two haven't spoken for three years.

"I'm going to miss absolutely everything: I'm going to miss her smile, the way she ran around saying 'mummy,'" a tearful Dunbar said. "She was my baby – I don't know why anybody would do this to her."

RCMP Supt. Tony Hamori said Wednesday that Terry Blanchette was also an acquaintance of Saretsky, but he did not elaborate on how they knew each other.

Police said Monday they were seeking a white van with a large antenna spotted leaving the house where Terry Blanchette was later found dead.

Police later located a white van.

Police were also seen investigating at a Blairmore dry cleaning business that used a white van, and which was owned by the Saretsky family.

On Thursday, the investigation continued at a rural property north of the Alberta-B.C. border town.

Fundraiser for family

Less than a day after launching a fundraiser, local Calgary radio station CJAY92 exceeded its goal of raising $20,000 to assist with the costs of funerals for Terry and Hailey.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 400 people had donated a combined $24,000 to the effort through GoFundMe.com.