3 victims in quadruple homicide in 'wrong place at the wrong time,' Calgary police believe
'I want to stress the brutality and the ruthlessness of the murders,' acting Insp. Paul Wozney says
Calgary police have identified all four people killed in what they're describing as a "brutal" series of homicides, in which some victims were caught in "the wrong place at the wrong time."
The first three victims — a man and two women — were found dead in a burned-out car at a construction site in the northwest Calgary community of Sage Hill early Monday.
The fourth, the man who owned the car, was found dead in the western rural outskirts of Calgary Wednesday morning.
That man, 26-year-old Hanock Afowerk, is believed to have been the intended target of the killings, acting Insp. Paul Wozney said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
"I want to stress the brutality and the ruthlessness of the murders," Wozney told reporters.
2 sisters killed
The women are sisters and identified as Glynnis Fox, 36, and Tiffany Ear, 39.
The man found with them has been identified as Cody Pfeiffer, 25.
Police believe the three "were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people," Wozney said.
The two women and Pfeiffer had recently met Afowerk and did not know him well, Wozney said.
The two women leave behind multiple children.
- Cousin of women found dead in burning car pleads for answers
- Body found west of Calgary likely linked to burned-car triple homicide, police say
Earlier this week, police said they were concerned for Afowerk's safety.
They noted that he had a criminal record but Wozney said "that matters not to us."
"We're concerned about people who are victims of homicide and we pursue every investigation to the same degree," he said.
Police are searching for more crime scenes and believe multiple people may be involved.
'A certain brutality'
Wozney said Afowerk's body was dumped with "a certain brutality."
All the victims suffered "significant traumatic injuries," he said, but declined to elaborate.
"It's been surprising to some very seasoned investigators," Wozney said.
"This was a brutal set of circumstances with regards to these homicides."
Autopsies are still being done on the four bodies, he said.
Calgary police are asking anyone with information that may help the investigation to call 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from CBC's Monty Kruger