Based on coverage from Economic Times, Castanet, Times Colonist, Times Colonist, and Orillia Matters.
Calgary police have charged a 37-year-old man with two counts of first-degree murder after two young children were found dead in an SUV in the city’s northwest. Police say the man, identified as the children’s father, called 911 to say he had killed them and provided his location. A publication ban means neither the accused nor the children can be identified.
The victims were a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, police said.
Calgary police describe 911 confession call
According to Calgary Police Service, officers were sent to an area near 14 Street N.W. and John Laurie Boulevard N.W. on Thursday, April 30, after receiving a call around 10 a.m. Staff Sgt. Mark Rahn told reporters the caller said he had killed his children and gave his location.
Police directed him to put the vehicle keys on the hood and step out. Officers then arrested him outside the SUV. The children were found dead inside the vehicle near the turnoff into the District 3 police station, as reported by CTV News and The Canadian Press.
Rahn said the man was co-operative during the arrest and later provided a statement to investigators confessing to what happened.
Timeline from pickup to killings
Police said the father picked up the children around dinner time on Wednesday, April 29, intending to take them out for a few hours, something Rahn said was normal in their routine.
The children did not return, and their mother contacted police Wednesday night to report them missing. Rahn said officers attended and tried calling the father, but he did not answer.
Investigators later learned the father had driven west, outside Calgary. Police believe the children were killed just before midnight. Rahn said the man returned to the city around 8 a.m. Thursday and called police at 10 a.m.
Court records cited by The Canadian Press say the children were killed on or about Wednesday.
Shared custody and prior domestic calls
Police said the parents were in a six-year common-law relationship and had been separated for just under a year. They lived apart and shared custody.
Rahn said Calgary police had attended their shared address four times in the past for domestic-related issues, but no charges were laid. He also said there had been no prior violence against the children and there were no protective orders in place. Court records indicate the accused had no prior criminal charges or convictions, though police said he was known to them.
Rahn also described a key limitation officers faced the night the mother reported the children missing: without a formal custody order being breached, police said there was little they could do at that moment beyond advising her to seek a court order.
Court appearances, autopsies, and what’s next
The accused made his first appearance before a justice of the peace on Friday, May 1. Police said he will remain in custody at least through the weekend and is due back in court Monday, May 4, for a bail hearing.
Police have not said how the children died. The Canadian Press reported autopsies were scheduled for later Friday. Investigators are also asking for witnesses who may have information that could help.
Calgary community supports grieving mother
The Canadian Press described the mother seeking support at Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo St. Michael Church in central Calgary, where she and the accused were parishioners. Father Goitom Mengesha said he went to her home after learning of the deaths and later brought her to the church for community support.
Adanech Sahilie, executive director of the Immigrant Outreach Society, called it a “nightmare for the community,” adding that the mother has no family members in Canada.
Rahn said police could not provide a motive and acknowledged the scale of the loss for the family, first responders, and the wider community.
