The two bodies found inside a Coquitlam home last week were those of a father and his young son, homicide investigators confirm.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) says the father was in his 40s, while the son was eight years old at the time of their deaths.
Spokesperson Sgt. Frank Jang says police aren’t looking for suspects, but the investigation is continuing.
While autopsies were recently completed, Jang says police aren’t commenting on how the father or the boy died.
But a woman identifying herself as the boy’s mother, Nicole Taitinger, says she warned RCMP about her estranged ex-husband Mark, who she identified as the man found dead in the home.
She says Mark killed their son before allegedly taking his own life.
“I have learned that Oscar was shot in the back of his head while he played his video game and Damon was sleeping at the time,” Taitinger alleges, referring to eight-year-old Oscar and one of the two other children she says the couple had.
According to IHIT, the bodies were discovered last Monday but officials have not confirmed how or when the deaths occurred.
Taitinger said she left Mark in August after an abusive relationship, later filing a police report. Court documents show the couple entered into family court proceedings last month.
She added she reported to a nurse that she feared for Oscar’s safety the same day the bodies were found by her 26-year-old son, who was coming home from work. The next day, the nurse called her back saying she had called child services.
In a statement to Global News, RCMP said:
Taitinger said Oscar was an “old soul” who liked to ride bikes, calling him a “very special boy.”
“He was very social and would walk up to anyone and strike up a conversation,” she said. “He never cared what people thought of him.”
A friend of Taitinger’s has set up a GoFundMe page to help the mother “rebuild herself and her life, and the life of her two older boys, Damon and Quinn.”
Police originally descended on a home on Seaton Avenue around 3:30 p.m. Monday.
On Wednesday afternoon, IHIT said only one person found inside the home was a victim of homicide.
Global News spoke to two residents who said they were approached by two officers asking if they had heard any parties in the area on Sunday. They said the officers assured them they are safe but didn’t elaborate any further.
The residents said a white evidence tent was erected in front of the home Tuesday.
Anyone with information helpful to the investigation is asked to contact IHIT or Crime Stoppers.
—With files from Jon Azpiri and the Canadian Press
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