Southern Alberta man Austin Vielle has admitted to a triple murder in a Lethbridge townhouse almost three years ago.
Austin Vielle’s guilty plea to three counts of second-degree murder was officially entered in a Lethbridge court Monday morning. His lawyer had already indicated her client’s intentions.
She had also said that a sentence of life with no chance of parole for 20 years would be recommended.
Vielle, 24, was charged after Kyle Devine, who was 27, Clarissa English, who was 24, and her 18-year-old brother, Dakota, were found stabbed to death on April 28, 2015.
Vielle’s trial was to start Monday. The trial was originally set for eight weeks and was supposed to be heard by a judge and jury, but was then changed to a four-week trial with a judge only.
Vielle was arrested nearly two weeks after the bodies were found.
Ian Devine, Kyle’s brother, told Global News the accused and Kyle were friends, and the family didn’t realize he was even a suspect.
Police said at the time that they believed Vielle had spent time with the victims in the hours prior to their deaths and that the fatal attack was targeted.
— More to come…
— With files from Quinn Campbell, Global News