Email
Print
Letter to Editor
ShareDrumheller man kills son and himself in murder-suicide
By The Canadian Press
Published: September 30, 2008 10:13 AM
RCMP say a 34-year-old man from Drumheller, Alta., killed his three-year-old son and himself in a murder-suicide.
The man was identified by neighbours as Richard Saunders.
RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said there was no obvious injury to the pair, and no weapon was found, but there were lethal levels of carbon monoxide in the home when EMS arrived.
Saunders was known to police through issues of custody over his son.
A friend of the child’s mother told the Calgary Sun she was planning to leave town with her son to protect him from the man she was about to divorce.
Court documents obtained by the Sun cite ongoing custody issues between Saunders and his wife, Mera, as recent as last week.
Webb said the case has been hard on the investigators.
“From what I understand he was a good father and it’s such a tragedy,” he said.
“It’s an unnecessary loss of good lives.”
Doug Lubinski, manager of Western GM Drumheller where Saunders worked as a car salesman since July, said the staff at the dealership are shocked by the death of a happy, positive worker and are offering their sympathy to his family.
“He was a good guy to work with — nobody understands what happened,” he said.
