By IANS,
Toronto : A Canadian man, who believed he was possessed by the devil, was Friday confirmed responsible for stabbing to death his wife, two young daughters and a tenant in the city of Calgary in Alberta province.
In their first report on Tuesday’s multiple murder case which has shocked Canada, the police said 34-year-old Joshua Lall, an intern architect at a local firm, first killed his basement tenant before stabbing his wife Alison Lall, 35, and daughters Kristen, 5, and Rochelle, 3, to death.
The couple’s one-year-old daughter Anna was left unharmed.
The police said his wife fought to protect their young girls before Joshua killed her. He then turned on his young daughters. Joshua later stabbed himself to death.
The five bodies were recovered Wednesday morning from the Lalls’ upscale home in northwest Calgary.
The police said they found a knife from the murder scene and added that all evidence pointed to Joshua Lall’s hand in this incident.
“It was a surprise attack. it appears the basement tenant, Amber, was the first to die, followed by Alison and the two girls. Every indication is that Alison fought to protect her children. Joshua later took his life,” the police said.
“We don’t know how long the whole thing took. We just know it happened Tuesday evening.
“We will not be releasing some details because of the nature of the crime, there are sensitivity issues with the survivor and the family involved. We don’t feel comfortable releasing all the information.”
A local newspaper quoted sources as saying that Joshua Lall heard voices in his head and he believed he was possessed by the devil before the killings.
“He said he was hearing voices in his head,” the Calgary Herald newspaper quoted an unidentified source as saying.
The paper said the police also confirmed that Lall began acting strangely two weeks ago, adding that he was under some work-related stress.
But “we will leave that to mental health professionals to make that determination,” the police said.
The troubled man is also said to have had a phone conversation with his parents living near Toronto a few days ago, forcing them to take a quick flight to Calgary. But they reached their son’s home Wednesday night when he and his family were already dead.
The killings have prompted calls for more emphasis on mental health in Canada where many provinces already devote more than 40 per cent of their health budget to the problem.