EDMONTON _ Testimony from a woman who said a friend was once choked by a man accused of killing two prostitutes will be allowed as evidence in the case.

Justice Sterling Sanderman has ruled that the woman's testimony and that of several other women has a bearing on the second-degree murder trial of Thomas Svekla.

The judge has also allowed testimony from a woman who told court that Svekla attacked her in 2005 and said he would kill her and dispose of her body.

But Sanderman, who is hearing the case without a jury, has also decided he must disregard evidence from several other women who said Svekla liked to enhance the effects of crack cocaine through choking.

The Crown says it believes Svekla choked both Theresa Innes, 36, and Rachel Quinney, 19, to death, but the medical examiner has not been able to establish an exact cause of death.

Quinney's body was found in a field east of Edmonton, while the remains of Innes were discovered in a hockey bag police allege Svekla transported to his sister's house. (CTV Edmonton, CHED) © 2008 The Canadian Press