OTTAWA — Ottawa police were investigating a triple homicide in a single-family home yesterday morning when they stumbled upon a fourth body in the same house four hours later, adding a mysterious twist to a gruesome crime scene.
Police last night believed that the case was a murder-suicide involving a family of four people, according to CTV News. Ottawa police refused to confirm the identity of the victims, who were said to be 45-year-old Sant Bri Singh Brar, his wife and two daughters.
Police said they got involved after receiving a call at around 2 a.m. from a person who expressed concern about a relative living in the house on Grandpark Circle, in the southern part of Ottawa.
Officers went to the scene, rang the bell, and left after seeing no sign of life in the house. They returned at 7:56 in the morning, then smashed the window on the front door to enter the residence at 9:15.
Police quickly found three bodies - two females and one male, all adult. They went on to search the house to ensure that no one else was dead or injured, or in hiding. The major crimes unit then took over the investigation, as the police force issued a news release stating that they were attending a residence "where the bodies of three people were found."
At 1:15 p.m., however, police found the fourth body.
Constable Alain Boucher said he could not explain why the fourth body was not discovered in the first go-round.
"A quick search of the house was done initially to make sure there was nobody injured and nobody was found," he said. "At closer inspection, she was located."
Neighbour Chantal Ruest said the Brar family "kept to themselves." That statement was echoed by Artemio Dela Cruz.
"We never talked to them," he said