An investigator leaves the crime scene at 175 Grand Park Circle where four bodies were discovered by Ottawa police. The dead appear to be the resident family, Santibir Singh Brar and Amarjeet Brar and their daughters. Errol McGihon/Sun Media

A worried relative led police yesterday to uncover the shocking scene of an apparent murder-suicide that has left four people dead in a house on a quiet street near the east end of Hunt Club Rd.

Ottawa land registry records indicate the house at 175 Grandpark Circle is owned by Santibir Singh Brar and Amarjeet Brar, but police were not confirming if the homeowners are among the dead.

Neighbours said the couple who live at the house have two daughters, Manmeet and Dildeep, who are in their early 20s.

Although police wouldn't confirm the identities of the dead, it appears Amarjeet Brar and her two daughters were shot before the father turned a rifle on himself. Police found the bodies in different areas of the house.

Cops originally visited the house around 2:10 a.m. yesterday after receiving a call from a female family member who was concerned about the wellbeing of one person in the home. When officers arrived, no one answered the door and there appeared to be nothing out of sorts, so they left and followed up just before 8 a.m.

Around 9:15 a.m., police forced their way into the home -- the window on the front door was still shattered yesterday -- and they immediately found the bodies of one man and two women. Another slain woman was found later.

Const. Alain Boucher said it wasn't until police could do a "systematic search" of the rooms that they found the fourth body around 1:15 p.m.

"A quick search of the house was done initially," he said.

Police called it an "obvious homicide."

Forensic investigators and major crime detectives worked all day at the home. Flowers sat in the upstairs window and the lights in one back bedroom remained on at night. Two sets of boots and a newspaper were on the front porch along with two plastic lawn chairs.

Land registry records indicate the Brars bought the house in October 2002.

Santibar Brar had been working as a night mechanics supervisor in the OC Transpo major repair garage on St. Laurent Blvd.

A worker at the garage said Brar, known as "SB" around the shop, hadn't shown up for work this week and people just assumed he was sick on or vacation. However, workers did note that Brar didn't call in.

"No one seems to know where he is," one worker said.

The worker described Brar as an "intelligent man" who was "always professional and polite."

Brar, who has braces and a mustache, had been supervisor for at least eight years, the worker said.

Brar's brother also works at the bus garage and they both once worked at a mechanics shop off Merivale Ave.

Balraj Dhillon, who knows of the family, said Brar's brother, Gurindervir, has been in India this week.

Gurindervir Brar was in India when he was notified of the deaths.

DIDN'T TALK MUCH

Neighbours on Grandpark Circle said they didn't talk much with the family.

"They pretty much kept to themselves," said Greg Harvey, 40. "You would see them on the porch every so often."

Charlene Delaciuz, 19, said one of the Brar daughters would ride the same bus as her to the University of Ottawa.

Marguerite Jolibois, who lives a few doors down, couldn't believe news of the homicide. She said she would often see the "quiet" Brar mother walking in the neighbourhood.

"I'm very sad for them," Jolibois said.

---

OTTAWA MURDERS IN 2007

There have been 13 murders in Ottawa this year:

- Nov. 21: Four bodies are found in a south-end home in a triple murder-suicide.

- Oct. 6: Angela Kuehl, 26, is charged with second-degree murder after a five-month police investigation into the death of her infant son.

- June 30: Alban Garon, 77, his wife Raymonde and Jean Marie (Claire) Beniskos are found dead in an apartment at 1510 Riverside Dr. No one has been arrested.

- June 21: Ziad Ahmad, 32, and Phillip Salmon, 28, are shot dead at Pari's Motel on Montreal Rd. Kwaku Frimpong, 23, of Ottawa, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

- June 15: Police find the body of Deborah Frankel-Howard, 61, in her Gage Cres. home. A nationwide manhunt is launched in search of the woman's adoptive son, Aaron Howard, 19, who turned himself into a RCMP detachment in Crystal City, Man. He has been charged with first-degree murder.

- April 28: Hassan La-Khazaali, 17, is stabbed to death at a gas station on Carling Ave. at Bayshore Dr. Safeolah Fizeeli, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder.

- April 3: Paul-Andre Simard's body is found in the basement of his Meadowlands home. No one has been arrested in connection with the 63-year-old security guard's death.

- Feb. 3: Jason Gall, 33, is stabbed to death in a downtown parking lot in the early morning hours. There have been no arrests in the case.
Previous story: LRT back on track