Calgary father charged with 1st-degree murder in deaths of 2 children

A Calgary father has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his two children, who were found in a vehicle in the city’s northwest on Thursday.

On Friday, the Calgary Police Service confirmed the victims are a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.  

The 37-year-old man appeared before a justice of the peace in Calgary on Friday morning. 

The Crown requested a publication ban on the identities of the children so CBC News cannot name the victims or the accused killer.

“This is a devastating and unimaginable loss,” homicide unit Staff Sgt. Mark Rahn said at a press conference Friday. 

“Incidents of this magnitude have a profound and lasting impact not only on the families and the community, but also on the officers and the first responders who attended the scene and investigate these incidents.”

Accused called 911, police say

Police were called to the 4500 block of 14th Street N.W. at approximately 10 a.m. after “the accused contacted 911 and stated that he had killed his children and gave his location,” Rahn said.

Police arrived on scene and located a stopped vehicle.

Officers took the accused into custody before locating the deceased children in the vehicle.

“He was brought back to our investigative building where he was interviewed and he provided a statement confessing to what had occurred,” Rahn said.    

Rahn said the parents of the children had been in a six-year common-law relationship and shared joint custody of the children after their relationship ended last year.

He also said police had been called to their shared residence four times over the course of their relationship, but no charges had been laid.

WATCH | Calgary police provide an update on the investigation:

Father charged in deaths of 2 children

Calgary police give an update after charging the father of two young children who were found dead in a vehicle on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the day before the children were found, the accused picked up his children around 5 p.m., Rahn said. 

When they did not return a few hours later, the mother of the children became concerned and called the police, he said.

At that time, police tried contacting the accused, but he did not answer his phone, Rahn said.

Official court documents show the offence allegedly occurred Wednesday night.

“Before midnight would be our estimation, but we don’t actually know for sure — not at this point anyways,” Rahn said.

Autopsies of the victims are currently underway, Rahn said.

The accused will be back in court on Monday.

Community gathers to mourn children

Dozens of members of Calgary’s Eritrean community gathered at a church in the northeast on Friday to mourn the children and support their mother. 

Father Goitom Mengesha, speaking through a translator, said the deaths are “horrific and devastating” for the community.

“This has never happened in our community … and we are just shaken by what has happened,” he said.

Mengesha said it is important for community members to come together during difficult times and provide support for the victims’ mother, as well as each other.

“This is where we always gather when any funeral or anything happens. This is where we support each other,” he said. 

Adanech Sahilie with the Immigrant Outreach Society said she has been working with police to support the children’s mother.

She said losing the children has been a “nightmare.”

“It’s really hard for mom. She doesn’t have any family members in Canada,” Sahilie said. “Having this nightmare, I don’t know how she’s going to bear it.”