The son of a veteran Calgary police officer has been charged with five counts of first degree murder, and now prosecutors from Edmonton are being brought in to handle the case.
Matthew de Grood, 22, has been charged with five counts of first degree murder. Neil Wiberg and Stephanie Brown from Edmonton will be brought in to oversee the case.
“We would do the same if it was the son, the daughter the relative of a judge or prosecutor, or a well-known defence lawyer.” Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson said Wednesday, “Not that there would be a conflict, but just so the public knows there's no personal stake in this whatsoever.”
The victims were killed at a party on Tuesday meant to celebrate the end of the university school year. Hanson says the attack was unprovoked.
“There was nothing to indicate that they did anything that would have aggravated him, or that there was some affront or some slight or some revenge, or nothing like that.”
De Grood is a university student in Calgary. He had apparently been invited to the party.
The victims have been identified as Josh Hunter, Zachariah Rathwell, Jordan Segura, Kaiti Perras and Lawrence Hong. Calgarian, 23-year-old Zachariah Rathwell, was a student at Alberta College of Art and Design. Josh Hunter from Priddis, was a 22-year-old student at the University of Calgary. Rathwell and Hunter were also bandmates playing in the group Zachariah and the Prophets. Jordan Segura, was a 23-year-old student at the University of Calgary and a member of the Religious Studies Club.
23-year-old Kaiti Perras, also from Calgary, is the only female victim. 27-year-old Lawrence Hong, was also a student at the University of Calgary. Friend say Hong was one paper away from finishing his engineering degree.
Flowers and notes of condolences have been left outside the home where the murders occurred. One note reads “heaven has five more angels, you will be missed”.
De Grood is scheduled to appear in provincial court on April 22nd. He is currently at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychology Centre for assessment.
With files from David Ewasuk
