On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt brings us to Part 2 of her special series, the Brentwood five massacre.
Lawrence Hong, Kaiti Perras, Jordan Segura, Josh Hunter and Zackariah Rathwell were a group of talented young people with promising futures.
But what started out as a party to mark the end of classes at the University of Calgary ended in a horrific tragedy.
It happened quickly and without warning.
In less than a minute, the five victims were stabbed in the biggest mass killing in Calgary’s history.
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Police arrived on the scene less than five minutes after the first call to 911.
To add to the complexity of the case, investigators quickly learned the suspect was the son of one of their own.
Matthew de Grood was the 22-year-old son of a veteran, high-ranking officer with the Calgary Police Service and would soon be charged with five counts of first-degree murder.
But what led to such a horrific and violent attack?
De Grood’s state of mind at the time of the stabbings would become the focal point of the case.
Doctors who assessed him said he was clearly experiencing a psychotic episode at the time. Evidence showed he believed he was “the son of God and Hitler reincarnated,” and believed the victims were Illuminati, werewolves and medusas.
He was also eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.
During the trial, it was revealed de Grood heard a male voice who he thought was Satan, telling him to kill the five young people before they killed him.
But determining what was real or what could have been faked also became a major part of the police investigation in this case.
After hours of interviews and psychological testing, experts supported a finding of not criminally responsible.
On May 25, 2016, the Justice presiding over this case agreed with those experts and found Matthew de Grood NCR.
In this episode, you’ll hear from the families of the five victims, as they were given the devastating news of what happened in Brentwood and learn more about the red flags friends, family and co-workers of de Grood reported to police following the fatal attack.
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Contact:
Twitter: @nancyhixt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/
Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca
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